Company secretaries say the Pensions Regulator should have more power to block takeovers to protect retirement funds September 28, 2016 Almost two-thirds of company secretaries believe the Pensions Regulator should be given stronger powers to block takeovers in order to safeguard pensions. According to a poll released today by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) and The Core Partnership, 64 per cent of company secretaries were in favour of boosting the Pensions Regulator’s [...]
Foreign exchange fraudster slapped with 20 more months in prison for failing to cough up September 27, 2016 A London foreign-exchange fraudster has had his prison sentence extended after failing to pay a court-ordered penalty. Alex Hope – dubbed King Popper for his champagne lifestyle – was jailed in January last year for seven years for duping investors out of £5.6m. His jail term was extended by nearly 20 months today after he failing to pay a court-ordered penalty. Hope [...]
You’ll be hearing from my lawyer: Blue chip companies placing more and more money to one side to fight costly litigation, with FTSE 100 legal provisions up by a fifth September 26, 2016 Firms in the FTSE 100 put aside £31.3bn between them last year in a bid to cover potential legal bills stemming from increasingly costly litigation, a study out today has found. Legal provisions, which refer to money set aside to cover expenses such as legal costs, fines and compensation, among those in the blue chip index have [...]
Taxman increases number of raids on premises by over a quarter September 26, 2016 More and more businesses could be expecting a rather abrupt visit from the taxman, as figures out today has found the number of raids carried out by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has shot up over the last year. The research found that HMRC searched 761 properties as part of its criminal investigations over the course of the [...]
Miriam Gonzalez Durantez takes up new job at UBS September 25, 2016 Some of UBS' London staff might be feeling one of the bank's new joiners has a very familiar face. Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, a highly-regarded lawyer and wife of former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, is joining the Swiss bank giant's London unit as a non-executive director. Gonzalez Durantez, who is a partner at City law firm Dechert, will [...]
Consumer interest group calls on watchdogs to tackle bank transfer scams September 23, 2016 A consumer interest group has today turned up the pressure on financial watchdogs by launching a super complaint into bank transfer scams. Research from Which? has found three out of five (60 per cent) of people don't realise there is no consumer protection from their bank if they are fraudulently tricked into making a bank transfer. Meanwhile, [...]
Barristers need to keep tabs on what tech means for their profession, warns chairman of the Bar September 22, 2016 Legal eagles need to think long and hard about what exactly technology means for the future of their profession, the chairman of the Bar has cautioned. Speaking yesterday at the International Bar Association conference in Washington, Chantal-Aimee Doerries QC warned certain aspects of the modern working world, including commercial pressures, red tape and political problems as well as technology, risked undermining [...]
How regional law firms are giving City peers a run for their money September 21, 2016 Growth at regional law firms is safely outpacing that of their City peers, a study released today has found. A third (33 per cent) of regional firms grew their revenue by over 10 per cent over the last year, compared with around a quarter (27 per cent) of City firms, according to Crowe Clark Whitehill's most recent law firm [...]
Investors want €8.2bn in damages from VW over the emissions scandal September 21, 2016 The Volkswagen emissions scandal – which recently spread to US car supplier Bosch – could be about to land VW with a bill for €8.2bn (£7bn) in claims from investors. A German court has said around 1,400 lawsuits in relation to the long running emissions scandal have been lodged at the regional court near VW's Wolfsburg headquarters in Germany, Reuters reports. On Monday alone – the [...]
Almost half of law firms are looking to merge or acquire in the next year, as they seek out ways to tap into specialist knowledge September 20, 2016 Just shy of half (43 per cent) of law firms are looking to acquire or merge with other businesses over the course of the next year, as they fend off increased competition from boutique offerings, figures out today have found. By comparison, when Smith & Williamson asked the same question last year in its annual survey of [...]