Criminal solicitors weigh up strike plans over low paid legal aid work April 26, 2022 Criminal solicitors are weighing up plans to join barristers in launching a strike, by refusing to take on poorly paid legal aid work. At a conference hosted by the two of the UK’s biggest solicitors trade association, solicitors raised the prospect of taking industrial action, with a view to pressuring the government into boosting legal [...]
Former Citibank exec named head of City of London police force’s insurance fraud unit April 26, 2022 The City of London police has named a former Citibank exec as the head of its crack unit dedicated to tackling insurance fraud. Detective Chief Inspector Tom Hill, who joined the City of London police more than 15 years ago from his previous role as a project manager at Citibank, is set to lead the [...]
Asset manager Vontobel expresses shock at death of ‘highly respected’ young trader April 22, 2022 A young and “highly respected” trader at Swiss investment bank Vontobel has died at his desk, the asset manager has confirmed to City A.M. Vontobel said it had learnt with “great regret” that a young colleague died in its offices last week. The investment manager refused to comment on the cause of death and asked [...]
Senior lawyers saw their incomes boom during Covid as firms boosted profitability April 22, 2022 Law firm partners saw their incomes increase 8.3 per cent during the pandemic to heights of £825,331 in 2021, on the back of booming demand for legal services. Those working as equity partners in English and Welsh law firms saw their fee incomes rise from £761,981 in 2020 to more than £825,000 the following year, [...]
UAE freezes assets owned by members of the Kinahan crime syndicate April 22, 2022 Assets owned by members of the Kinahan crime family – an Irish gang accused of smuggling drugs and weapons into Europe – have had their assets frozen by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE’s decision to sanction Kinahan gang – which has strong links to some of the world’s most famous professional boxers including [...]
Private detective admits hacking Wirecard’s critics April 22, 2022 An Israeli private detective has admitted coordinating efforts to hack journalists on behalf of disgraced payment processor Wirecard. Aviram Azari pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit hacking, and aggravated identity theft, for his role in acting as a middleman in the hacker-for-hire scheme. The charges relate to Azari’s role in working [...]
Lawyers value culture and friendships over cold, hard cash, new report says April 21, 2022 Lawyers place more value on culture and friendships with colleagues than they do on cold, hard cash, according to new data from Reuters. A survey of 900 lawyers found those who planned to stay with their firms were more likely to cite their colleagues, firm’s culture, and the quality of their work as their reasons [...]
Former BNP Paribas banker denies terrorising colleagues during $4m employment tribunal April 21, 2022 A former BNP Paribas banker has denied terrorising his colleagues, after filing a $4m (£3m) lawsuit against the financial firm. Former BNP Paribas exec Omar Alami is seeking $4m in compensation for unfair dismissal, after he was fired for humiliating his co-workers in 2019. The ex-head of equity derivatives sales denied “insulting” his colleagues, [...]
Stretched employees face unmanageable workloads due to staff shortages, new survey show April 21, 2022 Almost two-fifths (38 per cent) of workers have said they are struggling to deal with “unmanageable” workloads, as a result of staff shortages, according to a survey from Totaljobs. At the same time, almost half (46 per cent) would like to see their companies hire more workers to make their workloads more manageable, while another [...]
UK lifts cap on court days for second year in a row to cut Crown Court backlog April 21, 2022 The UK government has lifted the cap on the number of days Crown Courts are allowed to sit for the second year in a row, as it struggles in its efforts to cut the Crown Court backlog. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said there will be no limit on the number of days judges are [...]