Big Four rival? No, we’re old friends, insists ex-Deloitte boss as he launches Cogital – a new firm with big ambitions October 24, 2016 In August there was plenty of noise around the announcement that the former boss of accounting giant Deloitte, John Connolly, was starting a new bean-counting business, Cogital. The question was whether the project, which was innovatively backed by private equity house HgCapital, was the latest attempt to break the stranglehold of the Big Four? If anyone might be able to do it, then [...]
UK law firms still growing but competition from US firms and smaller players puts a squeeze on profits October 24, 2016 Lawyers in the UK risk being left twiddling their thumbs, as US and new firms increase competition and put a squeeze on top and bottom lines, a report out today has found. Only three-quarters (75 per cent) of the Top 100 UK law firms reported revenue growth this year, according to figures from PwC, down from [...]
Supreme Court rules HMRC conversation with The Times was ‘a matter of serious concern’ October 19, 2016 The Supreme Court has today ruled that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) breached confidence when it hosted an off the record discussion with journalists about a scheme a taxpayer was using. David Hartnett, then permanent secretary for tax at HMRC, told two journalists from The Times in 2012 that he was not a fan of film [...]
More than half of solicitors are from the first generation of their family to attend university, finds Law Society October 18, 2016 More than half (53 per cent) of solicitors in England and Wales are part of the first generation of their family to go to university, figures out today show. The diversity report by the Law Society also found that slightly over one in ten (11 per cent) of the country's solicitors in 2015 were eligible for free [...]
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the Article 50 case (but were too afraid to ask) October 17, 2016 The Strand has been busier than usual this week, as lawyers and members of the public alike flock to the Royal Courts of Justice to watch the Article 50 argument play out. Here's what you need to know about the case, what it means for Brexit and what happens next: What has happened in court so [...]
Finance boss facing jail time for sexual assaults at Heron Tower HQ October 17, 2016 A finance boss is facing time in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting women at alcohol-fuelled office parties. Anthony Constantinou, 35 and boss of foreign exchange trading firm CWM, was found guilty on two counts of sexual assault last month, but the decision could not be reported until today for legal reasons. The court heard how he [...]
Article 50 case is an attempt to invalidate Leave decision, Attorney General tells court October 17, 2016 The Attorney General has today told a court legal challenges over Brexit brought by businesswoman Gina Miller are nothing more than an attempt to overturn the referendum outcome. Speaking in the Royal Courts of Justice as one of the government's lawyers today, Jeremy Wright QC MP said: "This is not, we submit, a narrow legal challenge…in reality, it seeks [...]
Attorney General set to speak in Article 50 case tomorrow October 16, 2016 Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC is due to lay out the government's argument in the Article 50 case tomorrow. The case, which started in the High Court last Thursday, has been brought to decide whether an Act of Parliament needs to be in place before government triggers Article 50. However, lawyers for government are expected [...]
Financial and professional services are our entire nation’s Crown Jewels October 14, 2016 I have spent much of the past year speaking to employees, employers and entrepreneurs from across this great country. In December I went to Northern Ireland, in March to Scotland, in July to the North of England, and last week to Bristol and Cardiff – 12 UK cities in total. After each of these trips [...]
MPs criticise Article 50 case as a “diversionary tactic” after its first day in court October 13, 2016 Eurosceptic politicians have criticised a lawsuit arguing the legal process for leaving the EU for pulling away from the real issues of the debate just as the case kicked off in court. The case, which aims to determine whether an Act of Parliament needs to be put in place before government triggers Article 50 or whether government has the [...]