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 [...]
Chinese using state-backed hackers to attack energy projects in South China Sea August 30, 2022 China is using state-backed hackers to launch cyberattacks against energy projects in the South China Sea, according to new research from cybersecurity firm Proofpoint and consulting firm PwC. Hacking group Red Ladon, also known as TA423, is using a simple phishing scam to attack politically significant targets in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, including defense [...]
The Big Four’s legal ventures should worry mid-tier law firms August 26, 2022 THE BIG Four’s first forays into the legal sector in the 1990s ended in abject failure. Yet over the past decade, the world’s four biggest accounting firms have captured a significant share of the UK’s market for legal services, and have increasingly begun to compete with traditional firms. Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC have used [...]
Law firm sues Ghislaine Maxwell over unpaid legal fees August 25, 2022 A Colorado law firm is suing British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell over claims she failed to pay $878,302.66 (£742,000) in legal fees. Law firm Haddon, Morgan and Forman has filed a claim against Maxwell in a Denver district court, after acting on her behalf in the high-profile sex trial that saw her jailed for 20 years. [...]
Raab vows to break barristers’ ‘near-monopoly’ over Crown Court trials August 24, 2022 Justice secretary Dominic Raab is seeking to undermine the barristers’ strike by breaking their “near-monopoly” over crown court trials, government sources told the Daily Mail. As the UK government faces the prospect of an all-out barristers strike from the start of next month, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is weighing up plans to expand the [...]
Solicitors’ watchdog vows to use strike offs instead of fines in sexual misconduct cases August 23, 2022 The UK’s solicitors’ watchdog is set to cease fining lawyers for personal misconduct offences, apart from in exceptional circumstances, with a view to using non-financial sanctions instead. In a statement, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said it is pushing forwards with plans to amend its fining regime, after the UK’s Ministry of Justice (MoJ) upped [...]
Stewarts tops UK law firm pay rankings with partner payouts of £2.7m August 23, 2022 London law firm Stewarts today said its partners will receive payouts of more than £2.7m each – more than partners at any other major UK firm. The London firm said its 21 equity partners will receive payouts of £2.74m each for the financial year ending on 30 April 2022 after the value of its profit-per-equity-partner [...]
Sony faces £5bn lawsuit over claims it ‘ripped off’ millions through PlayStation store August 22, 2022 Sony is set to face a £5bn class-action lawsuit, brought forward on behalf of 8.9m people, over claims it breached competition law by overcharging for digital PlayStation games and in-game purchases. The Japanese video game console maker is being sued by consumer rights campaigner Alex Neill, on behalf of millions of gamers, over its practice [...]
Criminal Barristers vote to escalate strike action over legal aid fees August 22, 2022 Criminal barristers today voted in favour of plans to cancel their bi-weekly court walkouts and run a continuous strike from 5 September onwards. The Criminal Bar Association’s members overwhelmingly backed the decision to strike on an “indefinite basis” on Monday morning. 2273 members backed escalation of strikes by 79.5 per cent, with 11 per cent supporting a continuation [...]
Threat of recession drives City law firm hiring spree August 19, 2022 City law firms are seeking to capitalise on the looming recession by bolstering their M&A and financial restructuring teams. Vacancies for City lawyers specialising in banking, leveraged and real estate finance, capital markets, and derivatives surged 38.7 per cent over the first seven months of 2022, figures from legal sector recruitment firm Tenhaven show. The [...]