Clifford Chance to leave Canary Wharf HQ for new City offices November 16, 2022 Clifford Chance is set to return to the City after striking a deal to leave its Canary Wharf headquarters in 2028. The Magic Circle law firm has struck a deal with Great Portland Estates (GPE) to rent 321,000 sq ft of office space at the property developer’s 2 Aldermanbury Square project, which is set to [...]
Solicitors watchdog should ‘reconsider’ plans for turnover-linked fines, Law Society says November 15, 2022 The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) should “reconsider” plans to let itself begin serving fines equivalent to five per cent of a law firm’s annual revenues, the Law Society has said. The Law Society said fines matching five per cent of a law firm’s annual revenues would be “excessive and unjustified” as it urged the SRA [...]
City pay war continues as top US law firm hikes London lawyers salaries to £170,000 November 14, 2022 New York City law firm Simpson Thacher has hiked salaries for its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers to heights of £170,000 a year in a sign the City pay war is showing no signs of slowing down. The white shoe law firm has given NQ lawyers in its London offices a £12,000 a year pay [...]
HMRC’s Covid fraud taskforce to leave billions unaccounted for November 14, 2022 An HMRC unit set up to tackle Covid fraud is set to leave £3.3bn outstanding when it winds down in March 2023, campaigners have warned. The Taxpayer Protection Taskforce, which was set up by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in March 2021, will be phased out, despite having collected less than 25 per cent of the money [...]
British barrister to represent democracy activist Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong trial November 11, 2022 A Hong Kong appeals court has upheld a decision to let British barrister Tim Owen KC represent newspaper owner Jimmy Lai in an upcoming trial of the entrepreneur over alleged breaches of the Hong Kong’s controversial national security law. Jimmy Lai is set to face trial in December over claims his publication of his pro-democracy [...]
Frozen Russian assets should act as ‘wake up call’ for UK government, campaigners say November 10, 2022 The billions in Russian assets frozen by UK authorities since the start of the war in Ukraine should act as a “wake up call” to the British government, to ensure it never allows a “kleptocratic regime” access to the country’s economy again, campaigners have said. The record £18.39bn in assets frozen by the UK’s [...]
BP oil trader loses employment lawsuit after being stripped of whistleblowing protection November 10, 2022 A BP oil trader has lost an employment lawsuit against the firm after a tribunal ruled he was not entitled to whistle-blower protections. Jonathan Zarembok, who was fired from his job after flagging concerns about potential bribes being paid to Nigerian middlemen, claimed he was forced out unfairly. He raised concerns about “abnormally large” fee [...]
Barclays faces court over £40m breast implant scandal November 9, 2022 Barclays today faced claims it helped a private healthcare company avoid paying compensation to women given faulty breast implants by a private healthcare firm. The bank is accused of working with Midlands law firm The Wilkes Partnership to restructure Hospital Medical Group (HMG), in order to help it avoid paying compensation to women given faulty [...]
Lisa Osofsky to step down as SFO director in August 2023 November 9, 2022 Lisa Osofsky is set to leave her position as director of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in August 2023 after completing a five-year stint at the fraud investigation agency. Osofsky told staff she will serve her full tenure before leaving the agency, according to an internal message sent out by the SFO chief. In [...]
Barclays told to pay £1m to more than 1,000 mortgage customers over PPI breaches November 9, 2022 The UK’s competitions watchdog has ordered Barclays to pay up to £1m in compensation to at least 1,000 of its mortgage customers, over its failure to comply with rules around Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) policies. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Barclays should pay compensation to as many 1,306 of its mortgage customers, [...]