KPMG examining audit spin-off in wake of damning report from MPs April 8, 2019 Big Four accounting firm KPMG is reportedly planning an overhaul of its UK business in the wake of political pressure and a wave of scandals. KPMG could split its UK audit practice from its wider UK business, The Times reported. Read more: MPs call for full breakup of audit’s Big Four in wake of scandals [...]
Catalyst sets its eyes on further expansion after £30m merger April 8, 2019 London-based management consultant Catalyst is set to take a step across the pond, in a £30m deal which will give it access to the North American market. The firm said this morning it will merge with Sionic Advisors, with offices in New York and Toronto plus eight other cities in Europe and Asia. Read more: [...]
Legal Q&A: Major League Soccer’s trademark dispute with Inter Milan over David Beckham’s team name April 7, 2019 Nora Fowler of intellectual property law firm EIP explains the ongoing legal dispute between Major League Soccer and Italian football club Inter Milan over the proposed name of David Beckham's MLS franchise. What is the dispute? The dispute relates to the right to use and register the term INTER as a trademark for soccer related entertainment [...]
Professional services firm BDO plots out break-up plan April 7, 2019 Accountancy and professional services firm BDO is plotting out how it will carve off its auditing arm from the rest of its UK business, following a withering report from MPs on the embattled sector. BDO's head of audit Scott Knight said the firm had run through a range of scenarios in response to the report from the [...]
Freshfields appoints eight to partnership in London in largest promotions round since crisis April 4, 2019 Magic Circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has promoted eight lawyers to its partnership in the City. The eight were part of a global 22-strong promotions round, its largest since 2008. Read more: Freshfields partner accused of slapping DJ in argument over music The lawyers making the grade in London are transactional lawyers Cyrus Pocha, [...]
Judges and social media – Your Honour, should you be using Twitter in court? April 4, 2019 A British judge recently resorted to Twitter to appeal directly to one of the parties involved in a case over which he was presiding. Ellie Yarrow-Sanders was on the run with her toddler son, Olly Sheridan, for over six months. Mr Justice Williams, the High Court judge in the case between Yarrow-Sanders and her ex-partner, [...]
Shares in listed law firm Gordon Dadds jump after it acquires five overseas firms April 4, 2019 Shares in listed law firm Gordon Dadds climbed more than five per cent this morning after it said it had added five new partnerships to its network, representing £23m in revenue. The listed law firm, one of just a handful in the UK, has acquired Ince & Co’s former network firms in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, [...]
EY continues expansion into law with Thomson Reuters managed legal services acquisition April 4, 2019 EY has announced the acquisition of a 1,000 strong managed legal services business from Thomson Reuters, marking another step forward in the Big Four audit firm’s push into the legal sector. The deal follows EY’s acquisition of tech-heavy alternative legal provider Riverside Law in August which was widely seen in the sector as underlining EY’s [...]
Fraud squad boss will favour firms who keep hold of incriminating evidence April 3, 2019 Companies should be prepared to keep hold of evidence of fraud and corruption in their ranks if they want to co-operate with the authorities, the boss of the UK fraud office has said. Lisa Osofsky, the recently appointed director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said companies not only needed to be "brave enough" to [...]
Solicitor at magic circle law firm Allen & Overy facing disciplinary action over Harvey Weinstein non-disclosure agreement April 3, 2019 A solicitor at magic circle law firm Allen & Overy has been referred to a disciplinary tribunal over a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) signed by a former assistant of Harvey Weinstein. Paul Philips, the chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), told MPs today that the case was referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal last [...]