Warner Bros files copyright complaint against Trump’s Dark Knight Rises re-election tweet April 10, 2019 Warner Brothers is taking legal action against US President Donald Trump after he posted a video on Twitter that used music from The Dark Knight Rises. Read more: Mueller report to be released 'within a week' Trump yesterday posted the two-minute promotional video, seemingly as part of his 2020 re-election campaign, accompanied by the caption “MAKE [...]
You’ve been served: A look at the growing trend for divorce loans April 10, 2019 Divorce law in England and Wales is set for an overhaul. New rules announced yesterday will prevent one partner refusing a divorce when the other partner wants one. It’s hoped that the reform will speed up “no-fault” divorces, allowing couples to split with less acrimony, and ending what justice secretary David Gauke described as the [...]
Reforming audit will not be easy, but the latest report might be a place to start April 9, 2019 Sir Winston Churchill’s 1942 speech about the second battle of El Alamein contained one of his most famous quotes. It was not, he said, the end – nor even the beginning of the end – but it was perhaps the end of the beginning. One could be forgiven for harbouring similar feelings about the long [...]
Debate: Could financial services firms be better off basing themselves outside of London? April 9, 2019 Could financial services firms be better off basing themselves outside of the capital? Yes – Andy Mielczarek is chief executive at Chetwood Financial. Being based outside of London has such a raft of incentives that it seems like a no-brainer to set up outside of the capital. The overwhelming difference is operating costs. As we’re [...]
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, [...]