Solicitors watchdog to regulate after-work drinks and private parties September 4, 2022 The solicitors’ watchdog has said it will take action to investigate and prosecute cases of sexual misconduct that happen away from the office – even if those incidents occur at a pub or in a person’s home. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said it will intervene in cases of sexual misconduct that take place in [...]
Magistrates’ Court workers to worsen disruption with nine-day strike September 4, 2022 Magistrates Court workers are set to add to the disruption facing the UK’s criminal justice system by launching a nine-day strike, from the 10th to the 18th September. The strike, involving members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, will see court staff take industrial action over the government’s £1bn courts digitalisation strategy. The [...]
Japan’s ‘Big Four’ law firm Anderson Mori picks London for first European venture September 4, 2022 One of Japan’s biggest law firms, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, has opened a new office in London, in its first venture outside of Asia. The launch of the ‘Big Four’ Japanese firm’s London office marks Anderson Mori’s first venture outside its home continent, after the firm opened its first international offices, in Beijing, in [...]
City Exclusive – SFO’s ‘unique skillset’ will be needed to tackle UK’s worsening fraud epidemic, Lisa Osofsky says September 2, 2022 The director of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has said the agency’s skillset will be needed to combat the mounting levels of increasingly complex and high-value frauds facing the UK’s court system. The letter comes in response to reports in this paper showing the number of fraud cases reaching the UK Crown Courts dropped [...]
UK’s review of remote working holidays sparks tax crackdown fears September 1, 2022 The UK’s Office for Tax Simplification (OTS) has opened a review into those who work abroad remotely, in a sign the government may soon begin to crack down on remote working holidays. The OTS has begun collecting data on people who work for UK companies from abroad, following a major uptick in the numbers of [...]
Art dealers and letting agents drive uptick in anti-money laundering registrations September 1, 2022 Art dealers, letting agents, and estate agents are driving an uptick in the number of UK businesses registering for anti-money laundering (AML) supervision with HMRC. The total number of businesses signing up to HMRC’s AML register increased 0.9 per cent from the financial year 2020-21 to 2021-22, analysis of public available data by AML verification [...]
Employment lawyer admits making unwanted sexual advances towards junior colleague August 31, 2022 A senior employment lawyer has agreed to stop practicing as a solicitor, after he admitted making unwanted sexual advances towards a junior colleague. Ronald Stephen Simms, a former partner at UK national law firm Capsticks, agreed to remove himself from the roll of solicitors, after admitting to placing his hand on a junior colleague’s thigh [...]
City law firms have youngest partners, new research shows August 31, 2022 The City’s high-paying corporate law firms have more young partners than those working in any other sector of the legal business, new research from legal sector accountancy firm Hazelwoods shows. Almost two fifths (38 per cent) of partners at City of London firms are now under the age of 44, as young lawyers are [...]
Travers Smith’s partners see payouts drop 10 per cent to £1.1m August 30, 2022 Partners at Silver Circle law firm Travers Smith have seen the value of their annual payouts drop by 10 per cent, according to the City law firm’s annual results. Travers Smith’s partners are set to receive payouts worth £1.105m for the financial year ending on 30 June 2022, compared to sums of £1.22m in the [...]
Fraud prosecutions slowed by record Crown Court wait times August 30, 2022 THE UK’s Crown Court backlog is stalling efforts to tackle the UK’s worsening fraud epidemic, according to new research from KPMG. The value of frauds worth more than £100,000 reaching the UK’s Crown Courts increased 288 per cent, from £137.4m in the first half of 2021 to £532.6m in H1 2022, as a series [...]