Russian oligarch seeks to block fraud lawsuit over sanctions December 14, 2022 A high-profile Russian oligarch is seeking to block an $850m (£685m) fraud lawsuit over claims the Russian banks suing him could use proceeds from the case to “fund the war in Ukraine”. Lawyers acting on behalf of Russian banker Boris Mints called for the High Court lawsuit to be put on hold in arguing any [...]
Milbank boosts position in London market via deal with boutique firm December 14, 2022 New York law giant Milbank has poached almost 30 lawyers from boutique law firm Dickson Minto after snapping up its highly coveted City-based private equity division. The deal will see seven partners and 20 associates from Dickson Minto’s City offices join Milbank’s 140 lawyer-strong London team. Scottish corporate law firm Dickson Minto currently has its [...]
White-shoe law firm ups new City lawyers’ pay to £160,000 a year December 14, 2022 Cleary Gottlieb has become the latest US law firm to boost salaries in the UK’s legal market after upping pay for newly-qualified (NQs) lawyers in its London office to £160,000 a year. The white-shoe law firm has given its City NQs a 14 per cent pay rise, in offering to boost their salaries by £20,000 [...]
London gold market sued over ethical labelling for Tanzanian mine December 13, 2022 THE WORLD’S biggest bullion market is facing a High Court lawsuit over claims it wrongly certified gold from a Tanzanian mine as being responsibly sourced despite being at the centre of multiple allegations of human rights abuse. The London Bullion Market Association (LMBA) is being sued for an undisclosed sum by the families of two men [...]
New York law firm ups pay for newly trained London lawyers to £165,000 a year December 12, 2022 New York law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges has become one of the City’s highest paying firms after hiking salaries for its newly-qualified lawyers to heights of £165,000 a year. Weil Gotshal’s £5,000 pay hikes for NQs in its London office puts the New York headquartered firm in fourth place in the ongoing pay battle [...]
FTSE 100 firms hit with four times more fines than last year December 12, 2022 The value of fines against FTSE 100 companies has increased fourfold over the previous year, Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence research shows. Companies on the FTSE 100 index received £1.6bn in fines in the year ending on 30 June 2022, compared to just £354m worth of fines in the previous year. The £1.6bn figure marks an [...]
Law firms up billable hours targets as sector’s profits slide December 11, 2022 Top law firms have begun upping pressure on lawyers by hiking targets for the number of billable hours they are expected to work each year, according to new research. UK law firms are increasingly calling on their lawyers to bill more hours as they seek to reverse the sector’s declining profitability and weather the oncoming [...]
EU lawmaker arrested in Qatar corruption probe December 11, 2022 A top-ranking member of the European Parliament has been suspended from her job after being arrested by Belgian police in a Qatar World Cup corruption probe. Greek MEP Eva Kaili was suspended from her job as one of the EU parliament’s fourteen vice-presidents after being detained in the investigation into potential bribes paid by [...]
Linklaters becomes second Magic Circle law firm to launch apprenticeship scheme December 11, 2022 Linklaters has become the second of the UK’s elite ‘Magic Circle’ law firms to offer aspiring solicitors an alternate route to becoming a high-flying lawyer, after launching its own apprenticeship scheme. The City law firm’s new scheme will see six school leavers undergo on-the-job training over a six-year period, following which they will become fully [...]
Travers Smith calls juniors into the office for four days a week December 8, 2022 Travers Smith has become the latest City law firm to call lawyers back into the office after telling staff to spend 60 per cent of their time at work. The law firm’s new “agile working” policy calls on Travers Smith’s lawyers to come into the office for six days across every two working weeks. [...]