Big Four’s legal ventures could see surge in law firm IPOs, DWF chief says December 8, 2022 The Big Four’s efforts to bolster their legal businesses could lead to a surge in the number of UK law firms listing on the stock exchange, DWF chief Sir Nigel Knowles told City A.M. EY’s global split could see the firm become an “aggressive” legal services behemoth, as it is freed from the conflict-of-interest rules [...]
Lack of enforcement sees fraudsters resort to ‘brute force’ tactics, new report warns December 7, 2022 Fraudsters are increasingly resorting to “brute force” tactics, having been emboldened by a lack of consequences for those who are caught, a new report says. A lack of enforcement has seen fraudsters adopt increasingly unsophisticated methods, the report by Interpol and identity verification company Onfido says. The situation has seen criminals turn to using blanket [...]
City law firms will be ‘key’ to driving UK’s economic growth December 7, 2022 The City’s top law firms will play an “integral” part in securing the country’s long-term growth, one of the the City’s most powerful lobby group has said. Britain’s law firms already play an integral role in ensuring London’s position as a “world leading financial centre” in acting as a “critical platform on which other economic [...]
Barristers’ watchdog seeks to bolster staff following surge in social media-related misconduct December 7, 2022 The barristers’ regulator is seeking to bolster its enforcement teams to deal with a surge in misconduct cases involving social media. The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is aiming to recruit a “small number” of new staff to work on its 18 strong enforcement team following an uptick in complaints against barristers, a BSB spokesperson told [...]
Shares in RBG plummet following trading update December 6, 2022 Shares in RBG Holdings recovered slightly today after plummeting on Monday following news it has taken a £4m hit to its balance sheet. In a trading update, the London listed professional services firm told investors it’s litigation funding subsidiary LionFish has lost two legal cases over the previous year RBG said LionFish will take a [...]
Clifford Chance elects new chief to replace incumbent after just one term December 6, 2022 Partners at Clifford Chance today elected capital markets chief Adrian Cartwright as the law firm’s new top-ranking partner, in overthrowing the firm’s current chief after just one term. Clifford Chance’s global head of capital markets, Adrian Cartwright, won a three-way election to take over leadership of the Magic Circle firm. Cartwright will succeed ESG [...]
Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal chief steps down following office lease fiasco December 5, 2022 The head of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has stepped down from her position following news the tribunal is being forced to exit its offices. SDT chief executive Geraldine Newbold’s exit follows news solicitors will be forced to pay an extra £1.2m towards the tribunal’s new premises after its landlord decided to sell the building [...]
UK’s new flexible working laws still give employers right to reject requests, employment lawyers say December 5, 2022 New rules aimed at boosting uptake of flexible working arrangements still give employers’ significant discretion to reject those requests, lawyers have told City A.M. New laws aimed at increasing flexibility in the workplace, by giving low paid workers the legal right to ask for a more flexible arrangement and letting all staff ask for flexible [...]
Glencore to pay £147m over Democratic Republic of Congo corruption claims December 5, 2022 Glencore has agreed to pay $180m (£147m) to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to settle “all present and future” lawsuits arising from the large-scale international bribery scandal currently facing the firm. In a statement, Glencore said the $180m deal acts to settle any existing or future claims relating to the corruption allegations surrounding [...]
Legal sector talent war drives boom in London office market December 5, 2022 Britain’s top law firms are driving a surge in demand for City office buildings in their efforts to win over talent and meet their ESG goals. Law firms have taken up a record 1.5m square foot of office space in 2022, following a series of big deals involving Britain’s top firms, data from Knight Frank [...]