Inheritance tax faces a shake-up with number of proposed changes July 6, 2019 Under proposed changes to the inheritance tax, the current rules on gift-giving could be cut down from seven years to five. A review of the system ordered by chancellor Philip Hammond claimed the period in which executors are required to account for gifts given within seven years of death should be reduced to five. Read [...]
Almost a third of trainee lawyers at elite Magic Circle law firms educated at Oxbridge July 5, 2019 Almost a third of lawyers at the UK’s elite Magic Circle law firms attended Oxford or Cambridge universities, new data published today shows. The research shows 76 per cent of trainee lawyers at the UK’s leading 139 law firms are Oxbridge and Russell Group graduates. The figures were compiled by the Chambers Student Guide from [...]
Deloitte fined £6.5m for role in Serco tagging scandal July 4, 2019 Big-Four auditor Deloitte was today fined £6.5m and “severely reprimanded” for its role in Serco’s electronic tag scandal. The Financial Reporting Council fine was reduced to £4.2m after the auditor admitted misconduct in connection to the scandal Serco yesterday agreed a deferred prosecution agreement with the Serious Fraud Office over three offences of fraud and [...]
Freshfields increases partner pay to £1.84m July 3, 2019 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has boosted average equity partner pay to £1.839m, it said today. The firm said average profit per equity partner (Pep) grew six per cent in the year to 30 April, putting the firm at the top of the Magic Circle partner pay tree. Revenue grew five per cent to £1.472bn and net [...]
Clifford Chance kicks off Magic Circle reporting season with subdued performance July 2, 2019 Clifford Chance became the first Magic Circle law firm to report its 2018-19 financial results today, announcing modest gains in revenue and profit. The firm said revenue for the year to 30 April grew 4.3 per cent to £1.693bn. Partnership profit rose two per cent to £637m and profit per equity partner (Pep) grew one [...]
UK’s top 100 law firms report strong year despite final quarter slump July 1, 2019 The UK’s top 100 law firms grew fee income seven per cent in the year to 30 April, according to data published today. The strong performance is a slight dip on last year’s average fee income increase of 7.7 per cent, according to audit firm Deloitte’s quarterly legal sector survey. Jeremy Black, partner in Deloitte’s [...]
Staffline seeks to raise £41m to ease debt fears June 27, 2019 Recruitment firm Staffline has this morning announced plans to raise up to £41m by selling off shares to private investors and current shareholders. The UK-based company is seeking to make £34m through a placing, with a further £7m to come from an open offer. Read more: PwC fined £4.5m for ‘lack of competence’ in Redcentric [...]
Through the smoke: The legal path to Britain’s cannabis market June 26, 2019 The great and the good of the global cannabis industry (which, for those behind the curve on such things, is no longer a contradiction in terms), are assembling in London for a dazzling set of events under the banner of European Cannabis Week. Even those who follow the headlines about the industry’s rapidly escalating size [...]
How worried should you be about deepfakes? June 21, 2019 Mark Zuckerberg recently became the latest high-profile subject of a “deepfake” hoax. A manipulated video circulating on Instagram appears to show him boasting about having “billions of people’s stolen data” and thanking a Sheffield art installation for his success. Squint, and you could mistake the fake video produced using artificial intelligence software for the real [...]
Slaughter and May boosts pay packet for newly qualified solicitors to £100,000 as Magic Circle pay war rages June 20, 2019 Slaughter and May today said it is increasing its pay package for newly qualified (NQ) solicitors to over £100,000. The City stalwart said basic salary for NQs was going up to £92,000 from £83,000. Factoring in a discretionary bonus, which last year was 8.2 per cent, NQ lawyers stand to receive over £100,000 a year [...]