US lawyer pulls out of Hong Kong government forum after activists brand it a ‘propaganda event’ May 23, 2022 The head of US law firm Davis Polk’s Asia division has pulled out of speaking at a Hong Kong government forum commemorating the coming into force of the city-state’s controversial national security laws, after pro-democracy activists branded it a “propaganda event”. In a post on Linkedin, Martin Rogers, the chair of Davis Polk’s Asia business, [...]
G4S to face legal battle after judge approves triple killer’s negligence lawsuit May 23, 2022 A psychiatric patient, who killed three elderly men in Exeter, is suing security contractor G4S for negligence after the firm’s staff said he should be released from police custody. The London firm will now face a High Court trial after a judge rejected G4S’s argument that Alexander Lewis-Ranwell should not be able to bring forward [...]
Beny Steinmetz’ BSGR bribed dictator’s wife to secure rights to run Guinean iron ore mine, US arbitration ruling says May 23, 2022 Beny Steinmetz’ mining company, BSGR, paid millions in bribes to the wife of Guinea’s former dictator to secure the rights to operate an iron mine in the West African country, a US arbitration ruling has said. The diamond magnate’s firm used “corrupt practices” to obtain licenses to mine Guinea’s Simandou iron ore deposit, the International [...]
UK’s information watchdog tells Clearview AI to delete photos of British people from facial recognition systems May 23, 2022 The UK’s information watchdog has told surveillance tech firm Clearview AI to delete its database of facial images scraped from British people’s social media profiles. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) also fined the tech firm £7.55m, after ruling the firm broke the law by taking people’s photos without their permission. The intervention comes after [...]
Ukraine will seek compensation for environmental damage caused by Russia’s invasion, Kyiv says May 22, 2022 The Ukrainian government will seek compensation from Russia for the environmental destruction it has caused through its invasion of Ukraine, the country’s environment minister has said. Ukraine will pursue Russia through international courts in its efforts to claim compensation for the huge damage to Ukraine’s environment caused by missile strikes on oil refineries and fighting [...]
Government must consider most vulnerable in making Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) reforms, Law Society says May 22, 2022 The Law Society has raised concerns about plans to let individuals obtain sweeping powers to make calls on core aspects of vulnerable people’s lives via an entirely online process. The concerns come after UK government set out plans to digitalise the process of obtaining Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) through which friends and family members [...]
KPMG should take blame for Carillion scandal, not junior accountant Pratik Paw, critics say May 20, 2022 Critics have said the Big Four accountancy firms should flatten their hierarchies and ensure junior colleagues are able to challenge their superiors, to ensure low ranking workers are not blamed for accounting scandals. The comments come as regulators have called for KPMG junior Pratik Paw to be fined £50,000 over his role in the scandal [...]
Ex-White & Case lawyer says he faced discrimination due to anxiety and depression May 19, 2022 A former White & Case partner has accused the firm of being a “toxic” workplace after claiming he was pushed out of his position at White & Case’s London office after developing depression due to his wife’s cancer diagnosis. Michael Wistow, the former co-head of White & Case’s EMEA tax practice, has said he was [...]
UK’s audit sector trade bodies would not object to giving Big Four fines to the government May 19, 2022 Two of the UK’s biggest audit industry trade bodies have said they would welcome any plans to see money raised through fines against auditors given over to the UK government, in order to fund Britain’s regulatory bodies. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) both [...]
Mishcon de Reya hikes salaries for newly qualified lawyers to £90,000 a year May 19, 2022 London law firm Mishcon de Reya has given its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers an eight per cent pay rise, after upping their salaries from £83,000 to £90,000. The pay hike leaves Mishcon lagging behind its Silver Circle rivals, including Ashurst and Herbert Smith Freehills, who both pay NQs salaries of £105,000 a year In a [...]