Venture capitalist Julie Meyer to appeal six-month suspended sentence for Contempt of Court April 6, 2022 Venture capitalist Julie Meyer MBE is appealing the High Court’s decision to hand her a six-month suspended sentence, after she was held in Contempt of Court following a £197,000 dispute with London law firm Farrer & Co. The appeal comes after the High Court issued a warrant for the businesswoman’s arrest, after she refused to hand over [...]
London judge slams New York law firm Cleary Gottlieb for charging more than £1,100 an hour April 6, 2022 A London judge has slammed US law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton for charging its clients more than £1,100 an hour. In a short ruling today, Court of Appeals judge Lord Justice Males spoke out against the white shoe law firm, after it charged Korean electronics company LG as much as $1,475.75 (£1,131.75) an [...]
Russian oligarch is continuing to use law firm’s address without permission, company says April 6, 2022 Scottish corporate law firm Burness Paull has claimed a Russian oligarch is continuing to use its address, without its permission. The claims come after it emerged that Alexey Krapivin – who is accused of using a network of shell companies to channel billions of dollars out of Russia’s state-owned railway operator – is in control [...]
Clifford Chance paid working class staff 44.1 per cent less than employees from professional families April 6, 2022 Employees at Magic Circle law firm Clifford Chance, whose parents work as plumbers, electricians, or train drivers, took home significantly less pay in 2021 than staff whose parents work as teachers, accountants or solicitors. Clifford Chance employees from working class families earned 44.1 per cent less last year than staff at the law firm from [...]
Invoice scams lead to more business losses than any other type of fraud, new figures show April 6, 2022 UK businesses lost more money to fraudsters using “invoice scams” in the last three months than to criminals using any other form of swindle, new data from Barclays shows. Most (55%) of the money lost to scammers between December 2021 and February 2022 was lost through invoice scams, the figures show, as invoice scams – [...]
Government’s online divorce portal could crash as ‘no fault’ divorce laws come into play April 6, 2022 Landmark reforms allowing for “no fault divorce” could lead surge in the number divorce filings that could crash the government’s new online divorce portal, lawyers have warned. The introduction of new laws, allowing married couples to divorce amicably without blaming either partner, could see a jump in the number of divorces due to a release [...]
US officials investigate claims trader used insider information to profit from Activision’s Microsoft deal April 3, 2022 US officials have launched an investigation into whether the son of a Belgian fashion designer and a Swiss born aristocrat used insider information to profit off of Microsoft’s $68.7bn acquisition of games developer Activision Blizzard. US authorities are investigating a meeting between Activision chief executive Bobby Kotick and options trader Alexander von Furstenberg on [...]
Investors suing Russia say Kremlin will use law firm’s exit to delay $57bn Yukos Oil proceedings April 3, 2022 Investors suing the Russian state have raised concerns their case will be delayed after the New York City law firm acting on behalf of Russia exited the country and cut its ties with the Kremlin. A consortium of investors said they fear Russia will use delays to avoid paying a $57bn (£43bn) claim, by arguing [...]
French authorities face difficulties in seizing oligarchs’ villas April 1, 2022 Sanctions enforcers in France are struggling to seize oligarchs’ assets due to being held back by French laws. The country’s sanctions enforcers have now frozen €850m worth of assets, including 20 villas on the Côte d’Azur. However, French officials are currently struggling to actually seize the frozen assets, despite the EU’s “freeze and seize” [...]
Freshfields outbids Magic Circle rivals by offering newly qualified lawyers £125,000 a year April 1, 2022 London’s oldest law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is set to pay its newly qualified lawyers more than any other Magic Circle law firm, after upping pay for its new associates to £125,000 a year. Freshfields salary hike will see it pay NQs considerably more than its Magic Circle rivals – including Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Allen [...]