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 edits the Beyond The Billable newsletter and column. She was previously a litigation reporter at The Lawyer. Contact her via email at maria.ward-brennan@cityam.com or on X @MariaW_B.

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‘Ambulance chasers’ in the crosshairs as claims industry faces scrutiny

April 2, 2026

As London’s legal scene gets more litigious, creeping closer to the American ‘sue everything’ culture, so-called ambulance chasing claims firms are starting to appear in the headlines – for the wrong reasons. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, has been critical of claims management companies (CMC) or similarly specialised law firms throughout [...]
Rightmove accused of ‘bullying’ estate agents in £1.5bn legal battle

April 1, 2026

Property giant Rightmove has been accused of “bullying” its members into making payments, as hundreds of estate agents support a £1.5bn legal claim against the firm. The FTSE 100 company has been accused of charging excessive and unfair fees to the estate agents and new home developers that used its property listing portal as part [...]
Europe urges fewer flights, remote working as Iran war drains oil supplies

April 1, 2026

The spiralling energy crisis is forcing Europe into emergency mode, with politicians urging citizens to work from home, cut back on driving and avoid flying as the conflict in Iran cuts off a critical share of the world’s oil supply. The European Commission’s energy chief, Dan Jørgensen, said Europe is facing a prolonged crisis that [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks boom as Trump signals end to Iran war; Starmer eyes closer ties to EU

April 1, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. President Trump has made his clearest indication yet that the war in Iran might soon come to a close, saying the US will “leave” Iran in “two to three weeks” when they are certain the regime will not be able to build a nuclear weapon [...]
Motor finance compensation scheme set to fuel even more legal action

March 31, 2026

The City watchdog has revealed its long-awaited motor finance redress scheme, but despite the bill for lenders coming in lower than predicted the scandal is not going away any time soon, as further legal action is expected. After a 2024 legal case ruled that car sales firms couldn’t lawfully receive commissions from finance firms unless they had [...]
Deutsche Bank hit with £700m lawsuit in London by former executives

March 31, 2026

Four former Deutsche Bank executives have filed a £700m legal action in the High Court alleging the bank conspired to injure them by “unlawful means.” The history of the claim stems from a decade-long saga that began with the Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) scandal, which led to criminal convictions that have now been [...]
Fuel crisis grounds thousands of flights as Iran war sends oil prices soaring

March 31, 2026

Thousands of flights have been cancelled, and more are planned, as global airlines struggle with surging fuel costs in the wake of the war in Iran. According to data by aviation analytics company Cirium, more than one in 20 flights scheduled to take off on Monday were cancelled. Jet fuel, which is generally more expensive [...]
As KPMG looks to cut hundreds of staff, expect more layoffs at the Big Four

March 31, 2026

The Big Four giants, after hitting pandemic-era highs, are currently navigating a perfect storm of challenges: a harsher market, a surge in AI investment and a stagnant economy. These pressures are forcing firms to take a pair of shears to their workforces as the industry’s traditional “attrition model” fails to keep pace with reality. Over [...]
Sanctioned Russian oligarch’s charity launches legal action against Barclays

March 30, 2026

The Potanin Foundation, a UK charity of its Russian sister organisation, the Vladimir Potanin Foundation, has launched legal action against Barclays Bank in London via advisory firm Forvis Mazars. Founded in 2006 by the former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Potanin, the organisation has focused on education, culture, and philanthropy. The charity was intervened [...]
Burford Capital shares crash after US court overturns $16bn Argentina ruling

March 30, 2026

Shares in the dual-listed group Burford Capital have dropped nearly 50 per cent since a US court overturned a ruling in favour of Argentina, a blow to the litigation funder. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the District Court’s previous ruling that found Argentina liable to pay $16bn to former shareholders [...]

Rampant inflation could land Healey with £35bn bill, IFS warns

Manchester City owners must get messaging right or risk own fans turning against them

Where to eat Greek food in central London

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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