Baker McKenzie launches ‘thorough review’ into ex-lawyer’s racism allegations February 1, 2023 US law giant Baker McKenzie has vowed to immediately conduct a “thorough review” into claims a mixed-race lawyer was subject to multiple instances of discrimination in one of its European offices. The Chicago firm’s review comes after one of its former lawyers claimed she felt forced to leave her job due to facing poor mental [...]
Law firms face fines or closure over ‘incompetent’ solicitors as watchdog renews crackdown February 1, 2023 The UK’s solicitors’ watchdog has warned that law firms could be fined or shut down if they fail to deal with incompetent solicitors, as it looks to take tougher action against firms and lawyers that fail to meet the regulator’s expectations. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said yesterday that it intends to “broaden the ways” [...]
Size matters: Womble Bond Dickinson merger with BDB Pitmans canned as it ‘would be more like a takeover acquisition’ February 1, 2023 Womble Bond Dickinson and BDB Pitmans have scrapped plans for a merger, the firms confirmed today, as analysts suggested the relative size of the former would mean a merger would, in reality, be more like a takeover. The law firms, who first entered talks in Autumn 2022, said in a joint statement they had “decided [...]
Ex-PwC partner denies leaking info to City banker to help Slater & Gordon’s £637m deal January 31, 2023 The former head of PwC’s restructuring business has denied leaking confidential information to a London investment banker that allegedly helped City law firm Slater & Gordon get a better price in a £637m acquisition, a London court heard today. Ex-PwC partner Ian Green is accused of disclosing commercially sensitive information about software developer Quindell’s financial [...]
RBG Holdings shares plummet after professional services firm fires chief executive January 31, 2023 Shares in RBG Holdings today plummeted by more than nine per cent after the troubled professional services group said it had fired its chief executive. The AIM-listed professional services conglomerate said in a statement that its board has “lost confidence” in chief executive Nicola Foulston as it stated her “employment contract has been terminated with [...]
Is this the end of law firm IPOs? January 30, 2023 British law firms have traditionally stayed away from public markets. Yet following a series of IPOs over the past eight years, there are now six UK law firms listed on the stock exchange. Gateley became the first UK law firm to launch an IPO in 2015 after floating on London’s alternative investment market (AIM). In [...]
Serious Fraud Office: Osofsky backs government’s plan for new ‘failure to prevent’ fraud offence January 25, 2023 The director of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has backed plans for a new ‘failure to prevent’ fraud offence, after government ministers today confirmed the offence would make its way on the statute books. SFO chief Lisa Osofsky said government plans to introduce a failure to prevent offence for fraud has the “potential to [...]
Former Janus Henderson analyst charged in £1.5m insider trading case January 25, 2023 The UK’s financial watchdog has launched criminal proceedings against five individuals over claims they used insider information from an analyst at a top asset manager to illegally generate profits of £1.5m. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) claims Redinel Korfuzi, a former analyst at asset manager Janus Henderson, and his associates allegedly used confidential information from [...]
Private finance firms have fewer women leaders than listed rivals, new research shows January 23, 2023 Financial services companies that are structured as privately-owned partnerships have significantly fewer women in leadership positions than their publicly-listed rivals, new research shows. Fewer than one-sixth (15.1 per cent) of partners in privately-owned finance firms are women, according to research from employment law firm Fox & Partners. By comparison, women account for 43 per [...]
UK’s data watchdog to shift away from big fines to focus on prevention January 18, 2023 The UK’s data watchdog has vowed to shift away from simply hitting companies with big fines for breaching data privacy rules and instead will look to adopt a more preventative approach. John Edwards, head of the Information Commissioner’s Office, said today that he will focus on preventing data breaches from happening in the first place [...]