Big Four accountants face Australian competition probe February 13, 2019 The Big Four accountancy firms face fresh global pressure as an Australian probe investigates whether they have operated as a cartel in the country. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) contacted Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC late last year to request information, in order to determine whether a full inquiry is needed, the Australian [...]
Ex-Barclays trader accused of Euribor rigging felt ‘let down and used’ by private messages February 11, 2019 A former Barclays employee on trial for Euribor rigging has said he felt "let down and used" when he discovered that a colleague had been privately discussing with another trader at a rival bank how they could alter submissions for the interest rate benchmark. Colin Bermingham, 62, told Southwark Crown Court he felt it was "absolutely not right" that [...]
Wisdom of crowds: startup brings crowd funding to litigation finance February 11, 2019 When Cormac Leech, chief executive of new crowd funding litigation platform Axiafunder, is questioned about the potential 20-30 per cent returns offered to investors on its website, he doubles down. “If anything I’d say its conservatively 20-30 per cent, we would aspire to do better than that actually,” he says. Any investment offering such stellar [...]
Petrofac faces potential £400m lawsuit following ex-employee’s bribery conviction February 11, 2019 Oil field services company Petrofac is facing a potential £400m lawsuit from angry investors after its shares crashed when one of its former executives pleaded guilty to bribery and corruption charges. The former global head of sales at Petrofac, David Lufkin, pleaded guilty last Thursday to offering corrupt payments in an attempt to secure contracts [...]
Metro Bank investors mull legal action over accounting error February 10, 2019 Metro Bank is facing a potential looming court action after an accounting error that was detected by the Bank of England caused its shares to plummet. The Sunday Telegraph reported that commercial litigation specialists Stewarts Law had been approached by a number of investors to look into the matter. Stewarts Law partner Clive Zeitman told the newspaper: [...]
Freshfields partner accused of slapping DJ in argument over music February 8, 2019 A senior partner at Magic Circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been accused of slapping a DJ in an argument at a cocktail party. Herve Pisani, the managing partner of Freshfields Paris office, was accused of the assault by the unnamed DJ after a party for the firm’s partners in September last year. According [...]
Law firm DWF aims to raise £75m in pre-Brexit March float February 8, 2019 Law firm DWF said it is targeting a March listing on the London Stock Exchange, with plans to raise £75m. That would make its listing the largest undertaken by a law firm so far, outstripping Knights which raised £50m in June. The firm said it expects to announce the final offer price following its marketing [...]
Grant Thornton and the fraudian slip February 8, 2019 David Dunckley could have asked for a better start to his term as boss of Grant Thornton. Since taking over from predecessor Sacha Romanovitch – who quit shortly after being publicly criticised by an insider who claimed to represent 15 partners or directors – Dunckley has already had to deal with revelations of “false entries” [...]
Government promises £8m for court system in review of legal aid reforms February 7, 2019 The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) today announced an £8m investment in the court system as part of a review of the comprehensive changes to the legal aid system made in 2013. The MOJ said it would invest £5m in technology to improve the functioning of the system and a further £3m to support those representing [...]
Legal artificial intelligence startup backed by Mike Lynch valued at $100m after funding round February 7, 2019 Legal artificial intelligence business Luminance has hit a $100m (£77m) valuation with backing from investors that include tech billionaire Mike Lynch. Luminance said today it had raised $10m in a series B funding round that valued the business at $100m. Backers include Lynch’s Invoke Capital, Talis Capital and Magic Circle law firm Slaughter and May. Lynch [...]