The EU cracked the whip on cartels last year, while the US backed down January 5, 2017 Global fines for cartels rose to over $6bn (£4.9bn) last year, as a clampdown from the EU helped to push the figure higher, statistics out today show. Law firm Allen & Overy has calculated that fines for cartel involvement rose to $6.68bn worldwide in 2016, up 28 per cent compared with $5.2bn the year before, while the [...]
Law Society chief executive hands in resignation January 3, 2017 Law Society chief executive Catherine Dixon has resigned today, citing concerns over the speed of governance reform at the solicitors' professional body. Dixon has been in her role for two years and the Society will announce plans for recruiting a new chief exec in due course. Noting he was "extremely grateful" for Dixon's "tireless and effective [...]
Mind the gap: London lawyer salaries dwarf the regional earnings of their counterparts January 3, 2017 Newly qualified London lawyers earn nearly double what their non-London counterparts can expect to receive, according to figures released by a specialist legal recruiter. Outside of London the best paid commercial lawyers can be found in the north west of England, with a newly qualified legal eagle receiving an average of £39,000. But their equivalents inside the M25 [...]
L&G completes the sale of Cofunds’ investment platform to Aegon January 3, 2017 Life insurer Aegon has completed the acquisition of investment platform Cofunds from Legal and General. L&G and Aegon first announced a £140m deal in August last year, and have today confirmed completion of the transaction. It means Aegon becomes the UK's largest platform provider, with more than three million customers. L&G only bought the business in [...]
FCA fines plummet in 2016: Epidemic problems in wind down, say experts December 23, 2016 Fines levied by the UK's financial watchdog have fallen to their lowest level in nine years. The amount imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fell by 97 per cent during 2016 – just £22m of penalties have been dished out, compared with £905m in the previous year. And according to City law firm [...]
Legal & General appoints EY senior partner Jeff Davies as new chief financial officer December 22, 2016 Insurance giant Legal & General (L&G) has appointed EY senior partner Jeff Davies as group chief financial officer. Davies will take up the role after the firm's 2016 preliminary results announcement next spring and current finance boss Mark Gregory will step down at the same time. Gregory will remain an employee of the company until [...]
Tax clampdown leads to spike in VAT registrations December 21, 2016 The number of online retailers registering for UK VAT has increased tenfold after the taxman introduced new powers to crackdown on a £1bn loophole used by overseas traders. In rules announced in March and coming into force in September, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) can force overseas retailers using UK online marketplaces to either appoint a UK-based [...]
Cross party MPs want to amend key bill and have tax clampdown extended to overseas territories December 20, 2016 A cross-party group of MPs will today up the ante on the UK's overseas territories, hoping to force them to adopt the same transparency laws as the rest of Britain. 80 MPs from across seven parties will support adjustments to the Criminal Finances Bill stipulating the UK's overseas territories, such as the British Virgin Islands and Cayman [...]
Government must not undermine £25.7bn legal sector in Brexit process, warns City lobby group December 20, 2016 Government must take care not to unwittingly damage the UK's legal sector, which was worth roughly £25.7bn to the economy in 2015, in the Brexit process, a report out today has warned. The study, produced by lobby group TheCityUK, called on government to make sure the legal sector would not only retain access to overseas talent [...]
Lawyers advise banks they can sue the EU if it won’t grant a Brexit transition period December 19, 2016 Top lawyers are advising banks in the UK they might be able to sue the European Union if a transition deal is not offered as part of the Brexit package. Several across the financial sector have raised concerns they will be faced with a cliff edge situation once the UK divorces itself from the EU, [...]