Freshfields outstrips Magic Circle rivals with record partner payouts of more than £2m July 27, 2022 The sums paid out to partners at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have surged to record highs of more than £2m, after the Magic Circle law firm’s revenues jumped 10 per cent year on year. The centuries old law firm saw its profits increase for the sixth year in a row, after revenues surged to heights of [...]
Staff cuts in crime agencies would ‘completely undermine’ UK’s fight against oligarchs, campaigners warn July 26, 2022 Campaigners have called on the UK government to rule out plans to slash headcounts in the enforcement agencies tasked with fighting economic crime, after warning any cuts would “completely undermine” Britain’s bid to crack down on the kleptocrats, criminals, and oligarchs that seek to launder dirty money in the UK. UK government plans to cut [...]
Macfarlanes’ partner pay outstrips Magic Circle’s in surging to highs of almost £2.5m July 26, 2022 Partners at ‘Silver Circle’ law firm Macfarlanes are set to receive payouts worth almost £2.5m this year, after profits at the City firm surged. The bumper payouts mean partners at Macfarlanes will be handed sums worth significantly more than those paid out to top lawyers at London’s elite Magic Circle firms. Partners at the City [...]
New York law firm struggles to find firm to process fee payments from sanctioned VTB Bank July 25, 2022 The law firm acting on behalf of VTB Bank has asked for more time to file its case, after warning that at least three financial institutions have refused to process legal fee payments from the sanctioned Russian bank, even after being assured that processing the payments would be legal. The New York law firm Brafman [...]
‘Crumbling’ court buildings are worsening case backlog as repair works see more than 100 sitting days lost July 25, 2022 The Law Society has called for “widespread investment” in the criminal justice system after it was revealed that more than 100 court sitting days were lost in the first six months of 2022 due to repair works in England and Wales’ “crumbling” Crown Court estate. As of the end of June, 111 court sitting days [...]
UK’s Insolvency Service uses new powers to crack down on Covid loan fraud July 25, 2022 The UK’s Insolvency Service has begun using new powers, given to it last December, to crack down on company directors that dissolve their firms to avoid making repayments on government backed loans. The Insolvency Service used its “tough new powers” to ban three individuals from acting as company directors, for dissolving their companies to avoid [...]
Sadiq Khan warns record court backlog has stretched London’s victim support services to ‘breaking point’ July 25, 2022 London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called on the UK government to take urgent action to tackle the court backlog, after warning the capital’s victim support services are “being stretched to breaking point”. In a letter to Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, the Mayor of London said delays of up to five years for rape and sexual [...]
PwC ups pay for newly-qualified lawyers to £90,000 a year July 21, 2022 Big Four accounting firm PwC has upped pay for newly qualified (NQ) lawyers working in its fast-expanding UK legal business to heights of £90,000 a year. The salary hikes will see PwC match the salaries offered by top ranking law firms including London law firm Mischon de Reya, and put it ahead of major firms [...]
Legal market slump could force lawyers back into offices, Keystone Law chief says July 21, 2022 A slump in the market for legal services could see the UK’s top law firms put greater pressure on their lawyers to return to offices and see them begin to lay off newly hired staff, Keystone Law founder James Knight told City A.M. The push could in turn benefit fully-remote law firms such as Keystone [...]
Holiday for part time staff should not be pro-rated, Supreme Court rules July 20, 2022 The UK’s Supreme Court today ruled that a visiting music teacher on a zero hours contract should be entitled to the same holiday benefits as her full-time colleagues. The landmark ruling is set to open the door to claims from hundreds of thousands of part-time and casual workers for the same holiday pay as their [...]