Law firms brace as chancellor mulls over new tax on legal sector August 5, 2021 Rishi Sunak may be considering imposing a tax levy on the revenues of large commercial law firms, to help to prop up the ailing legal aid system, according to reports. The chancellor may be contemplating reviving the idea of a bespoke levy on commercial legal practices, an idea first suggested five years ago by then [...]
Wagatha Christie: Jamie’s phone could be probed in Rebekah Vardy’s libel battle with Coleen Rooney August 4, 2021 Footballer Jamie Vardy’s phone may now be inspected as part of his wife Rebekah’s libel battle with Coleen Rooney, a judge at the High Court has ruled. Rooney accused Vardy of leaking “false stories” about her private life in October 2019 after carrying out a months-long “sting operation”. The wife of former England star Wayne [...]
Judge dismisses lawyer’s harassment claim warning against ‘a culture of hyper-sensitivity’ August 3, 2021 A lawyer, who claimed she was unfairly dismissed from her £100,000-a-year job after being sexually harassed, has lost her case after a judge warned against “encouraging a culture of hyper-sensitivity”. Nirosha Sithirapathy, who worked as legal counsel at pharmaceutical research company PSI CRO UK, claimed that she was discriminated against because of her age and [...]
Civil fraud cases jump by 50 per cent and could rise as UK feels full covid economic impact August 2, 2021 The number of civil fraud cases heard in the courts has increased by 50 per cent in a year marred by the pandemic according to new analysis published today by international law firm RPC. Cases in the courts of England and Wales went up from 61 in 2019 to 94 in 2020. RPC blamed the [...]
Goodwin ups newly qualified lawyers pay to £147k in a second rise this year July 30, 2021 US law firm Goodwin Procter has bumped up the salaries of its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers in London for the second time this year, City A.M. understands. Junior lawyers at the firm have been given a pay increase of 7 per cent bringing their annual salary to £147,000 less than six months after Goodwin gave [...]
Pupil barristers down by almost a third in 30 years July 29, 2021 The number of pupils for the bar has declined by almost 30 per cent since 1990, according to new research published by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) this week. The number of graduates starting pupillage in 2020 was 542, representing a fall of 28 per cent from 757 in 1991, according to the regulatory body. [...]
Norton Rose Fulbright technical glitch causes staff gender pronouns mix up July 27, 2021 A software error resulted in a gender pronoun mixup in emails for Norton Rose Fulbright staff. The global law firm allowed its staff in Australia earlier this month to specify what pronounce they wished to be referred to by including “he/him”, “she/her” and “they/them”. But a technical problem glitch meant those staff pronouns changed randomly. [...]
Ashurst’s equity profit bounces back to £1m per partner July 21, 2021 London-based law firm Ashurst has seen their equity per partner profit total to more than £1m in the previous 12 months from April 30. After five consecutive years of revenue growth the company has seen a 15 per cent growth in their partner profit over the year. Revenue for the company was also up 10per [...]
Law firm DWF reports strong year with revenue over £400m July 21, 2021 DWF Group, the international legal firm, has reported a rise in its revenues to £400m, in its full year results released today. Revenue rose to £401m for the year ended 30 April 2021, representing a 12 per cent increase from £357m in the previous year. Net revenue also grew by 14 per cent to £338.1m. DWF’s [...]
Clifford Chance report record revenue and profits in sixth consecutive year of growth July 20, 2021 Law firm Clifford Chance announces its sixth consecutive year of profit and revenue growth despite the pandemic. For the year ended 30 April Clifford Chance saw its revenue rise to £1.8bn, though by a marginal rate of one per cent compared to the previous financial year. Its profit per equity partner increased by nine per [...]