By: Maria Ward-Brennan

Professional Services Editor Maria Ward-Brennan is the Professional Services Editor at City AM, focused on law, Big Four, and other management and accounting consulting firms. She was previously a litigation reporter at The Lawyer. Contact her via email at maria.ward-brennan@cityam.com or X (Twitter) @MariaW_B.

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Exclusive: Big Four giant KPMG to cut more jobs

Big Four

Big Four giant KPMG is set to lay off around 10 per cent of staff in its UK group corporate services division, City AM understands. The division, which includes HR, corporate affairs, marketing, tech, and procurement, is understood to be cutting around 200 people. A KPMG UK spokesperson told City AM: “As we continue to [...]
Music tycoon Simon Cowell sued by prominent City lawyer

Lawsuit

City lawyer Ian Rosenblatt has launched legal action in London’s High Court against music mogul Simon Cowell over alleged withheld fees. The lawsuit stems from the lawyer stepping down as director of Syco Entertainment, Cowell’s production company, and as an adviser to the talent show judge. Quinn Emanuel’s partner Gregory Pantlin and senior associate Emma [...]
Hacking scandal? Inside Prince Harry’s costly legal battle over privacy

Media

The phone hacking scandal, which first emerged 15 years ago, has cost the owners of Britain’s most prominent newspapers over a billion pounds in legal damages, keeping law firms and the courts busy for more than a decade, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The phone hacking saga returned to the headlines in spectacular style this week after [...]

Senior exec layoffs surge as firms brace for major employment law change

July 8, 2026

Senior exec exits from top businesses have surged since the start of the year as firms quietly clear out highly-paid staff before fresh costs associated with the Employment Rights Act changes come into force. Law firms have seen a “massive uptick in inquiries” from top staff exploring their legal options after being told they face [...]
Lufthansa and aviation rivals clash in London court over power outlet profits

July 7, 2026

German airline Lufthansa is back in the London courts this week over its long-running patent infringement dispute with a US, a Japanese, and a French aircraft manufacturer. The legal battle stems back to 2017, when aircraft maintenance group Lufthansa Technik alleged that Astronics Advanced Electronic Systems, Panasonic, and Safran infringed its patent for high-voltage aircraft [...]
Luminance’s boss: Why building our own AI beats ‘rented intelligence’

June 25, 2026

Amid a surge of legal AI tech firms coming to market, concerns are emerging about ‘rented intelligence,’ with some companies criticised for simply putting their logos on technology developed by others. In contrast, Luminance insists it is focused on the bigger picture, betting its future on AI models it has built in-house. Speaking to City [...]
‘Streets ahead’ – London aims to wear the legal AI crown

June 25, 2026

New York may have the money, but London is trying to claim the ‘global capital of legal AI’ crown, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. In the midst of a brutal transatlantic talent war, where US firms are driving salaries through the roof and aggressively poaching top talent across the City, London has quietly secured a major strategic [...]
Consulting giants face up to AI-reckoning

June 25, 2026

Shares in major consultancy firms have dropped sharply as investors fret over the impact of AI on the industry. Maria Ward-Brennan and Rosie Harris-Davison look at whether the threat is real. A bloodbath is unfolding across the professional services sector as artificial intelligence (AI) hammers the shares of global consulting giants like Accenture, IBM and [...]
Brexit 10 years on: Business does not want a referendum rerun, says CBI chief

June 23, 2026

British businesses are focused on the future and do not want a rerun of the Brexit referendum, the leader of the UK’s largest business lobby group has warned. Speaking to the FT, CBI director-general Rain Newton-Smith, on the tenth anniversary of the referendum, stated that despite the economic pain of leaving the EU, businesses don’t [...]
‘Landmark moment’ – AI law firm wins its first-ever court battle

June 22, 2026

In a global legal first, an AI-powered law firm that has regulatory approval has won its first court trial. Garfield AI, the world’s first AI law firm authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), has just been successful in a small claim for a freelancer to win against a hospitality business. The case [...]

Europe has made a ‘major mistake’ on slow electrification, IEA chief warns

Will the Nations Championship financially underdeliver for in-need Fiji?

I was on the Goodyear blimp above London – here’s what it was like

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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