Crispin Odey loses appeal to overturn lifetime financial services ban September 14, 2026 Former hedge fund tycoon Crispin Odey has failed to overturn a £1.8m fine and lifetime ban from working in the financial services industry. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) earlier this year hit Odey with the fine and banned him from working in the industry after a series of historic sexual assault allegations from former female [...]
City lawyer pleads not guilty to insider dealing charges September 11, 2026 A City lawyer has pleaded not guilty to five counts of alleged insider dealing for trading in the assets of maternity fashion brand Seraphine Group. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed in July that it charged Richard Bloomfield, 38, with allegedly using inside information he obtained while advising on the buyout of London-listed maternity brand [...]
Next dodges ‘hammer blow’ with equal pay court victory September 7, 2026 Retail giant Next has won an equal pay appeal allowing it to pay warehouse workers more than shop-floor staff, warning that its defeat “would have represented a hammer blow to retail employment in the UK”. The FTSE 100 retailer told shareholders on Monday that it was justified in paying its warehouse operatives a higher rate [...]
Lawyer struck off for using fake AI evidence in his own disciplinary case September 4, 2026 An immigration lawyer who was referred to a Tribunal after a criminal conviction has been struck off after using AI-generated evidence as part of his own defence. Abhishek Kumar, 41, a registered foreign lawyer, was referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) after his 2024 criminal conviction at the Central Criminal Court, after he knowingly [...]
Surge in third-party funding sparks wave in FTSE shareholder lawsuits September 4, 2026 A surge in the availability of third-party funding has triggered a wave of speculative FTSE shareholder lawsuits as investors seek to cash in on claims of wrongdoing. Over the last year, multiple blue-chip names, including gambling giant Entain, smoking tycoon British American Tobacco (BAT), and fast fashion retailer Boohoo, have been summoned before the High [...]
Millions spent, reputations battered: Fraud watchdog, Dechert and ENRC legal war reaches an end September 2, 2026 Years of bitter litigation, millions of pounds in legal fees, and severe reputational damage: the disastrous, decade-long feud between a Kazakh mining giant, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and a heavy-hitting City law firm has finally ended with a confidential settlement. Mining firm Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) launched legal action against the law firm [...]
City firms face FCA clampdown on bullying and harassment September 1, 2026 City bosses are set for fresh scrutiny over the conduct of their staff as the financial regulator extends a clampdown on non-financial misconduct issues like bullying and harassment. After years of consultation, surveys and industry feedback, the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new rules on non-financial misconduct in non-banking firms take effect on Tuesday for around [...]
City firms mandate phone and face-to-face comms bootcamps for Gen Z lawyers August 28, 2026 City Law firms are rolling out mandatory programmes to train their junior lawyers in communication skills, including how to speak on the phone and deal with clients in person. Addleshaw Goddard’s ‘early careers’ team introduced a training programme after identifying that some early-career lawyers “may have had limited exposure to a professional services environment and [...]
Clio hires legal tech veteran to overhaul backlogged courts August 25, 2026 Legal tech firm Clio has appointed Casetext’s co-founder to lead an initiative integrating AI directly into the court system. Clio, which currently offers its tech to lawyers and law firms, will create a “dedicated product line” of legal AI software “designed around the distinct needs of courts and judges”. Lawyer Pablo Arredondo was appointed to [...]
City leaders weigh employment policy alternatives to non-competes August 25, 2026 City businesses are expecting non-compete agreements to become less effective, looking instead to alternatives such as deferred bonus payments or share incentive plans to keep employees on board. In 2025, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) launched a consultation to consider restrictions on non-compete clauses in employment contracts. The consultation closed for feedback in [...]