Gateley chief says truce in legal sector pay war will boost firm’s expansion plans January 18, 2023 An easing of the pay war between law firms has already begun to benefit Gateley’s balance sheet as the listed law firm’s chief executive outlined his expansion plans to City A.M. Gateley boss Rod Waldie said the “whole sector is benefiting” from the calming of the legal sector pay war that has seen lawyers’ salaries [...]
London firm Shipleys investigated over audit of Russian fintech Zaim Credit Systems January 18, 2023 The UK’s accounting regulator has launched an investigation into London accounting firm Shipleys over its audit work for the UK-listed holding company of Russian fintech firm Zaim Express. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said today that it has decided to open an investigation into the firm’s audit of Zaim Credit Systems’ 2021 accounts. The FRC’s [...]
UK law firms plunged into bankruptcy by soaring insurance premiums January 17, 2023 Dozens of UK law firms have collapsed into bankruptcy over the last year due to being unable to obtain the insurance policies they need to continue operating, new research shows. The rising cost of taking out professional indemnity insurance (PII) policies – that cover any losses arising from negligent services – caused nine UK [...]
London partners paid 25 per cent more at US law firms, new data shows January 16, 2023 The top US law firms are now paying their London partners significantly more than their British rivals, in another sign of American dominance in the UK legal sector. Partners in the London offices of the top 15 US law firms took away 25 per cent higher payouts than their counterparts in the UK’s top 15 [...]
London-listed law firm Knights bolsters business with Meade King acquisition January 16, 2023 Knights today acquired commercial law firm Meade King for £2.1m as the London-listed law firm pushes forwards with plans to bolster its business via mergers and acquisitions. Under the terms of the deal, Knights – one of just six UK listed law firms – will take on 29 of Meade King’s lawyers, including four partners. [...]
City law firms risk losing talent unless they reduce swelling workloads, research shows January 15, 2023 British law firms could struggle to retain talent if they do not ease workloads that are pushing burnout rates higher, new research reveals. Nearly two in three of UK legal professionals have experienced burnout as a result of their work despite the sector stepping mental health support, a new survey out earlier this week of [...]
Recession to end City’s legal sector pay war, recruiters warn January 15, 2023 A drop in legal sector revenues is likely see the end of the pay war that has played out between the City’s top law firms over the past two years, legal sector recruiters have said. Falling revenues off the back of a slowdown in new business will likely see lawyers’ salaries plateau or even go [...]
Wedlake Bell’s rising star on how tech is changing they way City law firms work January 13, 2023 Technology is increasingly changing the way we work, and law firms are no exception. Innovation and new technical solutions are rapidly penetrating the City’s legal powerhouses. At the same time, barristers and other lawyers feel they are not compensated sufficiently for the hard work they put in, prompting thousands to strike earlier this year. To [...]
City law firms may be forced to make layoffs as UK downturn hits, recruiters say January 11, 2023 The City’s top law firms could soon be set to follow their US counterparts in laying off staff, recruiters have said. The UK’s corporate law firms may be forced to make lawyers redundant due to the wider economic downturn and a lull in M&A activity, recruiters told City A.M. Scot Gibson, director of legal sector [...]
Dechert hires ‘high stakes’ litigator to fight journalist’s ‘hack-and-smear’ lawsuit January 10, 2023 US law firm Dechert has hired “high-stakes” litigator Kaplan, Hecker & Fink to defend it from being sued by a former Wall Street Journal reporter, over claims it hired hackers to tarnish his reputation and push him out of a job. Dechert is being sued by the WSJ’s former chief foreign correspondent, Jay Solomon, over [...]