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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High Court rejects Square Mile Tom James’ legal case against former employee

November 5, 2025

The High Court has dismissed a lawsuit to enforce restrictive covenants and confidentiality obligations against a former employee of giant Tom James in the Square Mile. Tom James is the world’s largest manufacturer and retailer of customised clothing, and in the City, where some suits are priced at around £2,500, it tailors to working professionals. [...]
UK and Irish BDO firms set sights on ‘landmark’ mid-market merger

November 5, 2025

The UK arm of accountancy and business advisory giant BDO is in merger talks with its Irish counterpart, highlighting a clear ambition for growth. The potential merger would be a landmark moment for both businesses. It would create one of the biggest accountancy firms in Europe, focusing on the entrepreneurial, growing, and ambitious mid-market heartland. [...]
Ex-CEO faces trial for allegedly urging MPs to block Chinese-backed acquisition

November 5, 2025

The High Court is set to hear a case over an allegation against a former interim CEO of an aerospace firm who is accused of secretly lobbying MPs and the UK government to sabotage a Chinese-backed deal. The case follows a national security review by the UK government into a deal that could have led [...]
Lawyers warn Reeves: Don’t destroy £60bn industry over LLPs gambit

November 4, 2025

The legal industry has slammed Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ proposed tax hike on LLPs, saying the move “could harm one of the UK’s most globally competitive sectors.” As she aims to fill the fiscal black hole, Reeves is reportedly targeting limited liability partnerships (LLPs) for a tax raid for the first time. The LLP model, used [...]
Court rejects Getty Images’ core claim in historic case against AI image generator

November 4, 2025

The High Court dismissed Getty Images’ core intellectual property claims against an AI image generator, but also granted it limited historic success in a landmark UK lawsuit. US giant Getty Images sued UK-based AI image generator Stability AI, alleging it unlawfully copied and processed millions of copyrighted images to train its image generation technology. The [...]
Exclusive: Tory peer Lord Garnier joins Pillsbury amid London expansion

November 4, 2025

Tory peer Lord Edward Garnier is joining US law firm Pillsbury as senior counsel, as it continues its expansion into the City, City AM can reveal. Lord Garnier KC, currently a member of the House of Lords, served as Solicitor General under David Cameron. He was MP for Harborough from 1992 to 2017. The barrister, [...]
Minimum wage hike puts pressure on professional starting salaries

November 3, 2025

With Rachel Reeves poised to raise the minimum wage in her Autumn Budget, mid-tier professional services firms are bracing for significant impacts across the sector. As reported last week, the Budget will likely see employers forced to raise workers’ wages from £12.21 to at least £12.70 an hour. However, for businesses, especially those in the [...]
Businesses face new ‘right to work’ compliance burden as gig economy checks loom

November 3, 2025

The UK government is moving to extend mandatory ‘right to work’ checks to cover individuals hired under a ‘worker’s contract’, in a move to address gaps in the law in the gig economy. The Home Office launched a consultation last week as it seeks to clamp down on illegal working. As a result, for the [...]
MHA set to deliver double-digit revenue growth as strategy pays off

October 31, 2025

Listed professional services group MHA has revealed that its first half 2026 revenue is expected to jump around 13 per cent from the same period last year, as it remains on track to meet full-year market expectations. In a trading update on Friday morning, the firm said revenue for the six months ended 30 September [...]
Abu Dhabi sets sights New York, London and Singapore

October 30, 2025

Over the last decade, Abu Dhabi has attracted more than 300 financial firms, with a combined $28.6 trillion in assets globally, as the city positions itself as a global “capital of capital.” ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre, revealed it has experienced rapid growth from financial firms over the last three years, increasing from 131 [...]

Late payments costing UK economy £11bn as SMEs struggle to invest

Can football conquer the US? Why culture is key this World Cup

The best places to eat sandwiches in Lisbon, from bifanas to pregos

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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