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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Legal sector feeling subdued as regulator loses its AML powers

October 23, 2025

The Treasury’s decision to transfer oversight of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision to the FCA has sparked concerns within the professional services sector. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) served as a Professional Body Supervisor (PBS) for AMLCT for law firms across England and Wales, while for the accountancy sector, the HMRC plays the supervision [...]
Lawyers sound alarm over Rachel Reeves’ proposed tax target on LLPs

October 22, 2025

The Chancellor is reportedly looking to target limited liability partnerships (LLPs) for a tax raid as she tries to fill the fiscal black hole, but critics warn that this move will have consequences for the professional services sector. The LLP model, used by professional services such as law firms, accountancy, and some doctors (GPs), came into force [...]
Fully remote with no associates: Meet the ‘elite’ law firm of the future

October 22, 2025

US lawyers Michael Pierson and Joel Ferdinand joined forces “with the vision to build the elite law firm of the future”, going in the opposite direction of the traditional market with a tech-focused, full-service approach. Oh, and no offices. And no associates. Founded in January 2024, New York-based Pierson Ferdinand became the largest law firm [...]
FCA to take control of anti-money laundering supervision of professional service firms in major reform

October 21, 2025

The government’s reform of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision will significantly change and diminish the roles of the legal regulator and HMRC. Today, the Treasury revealed the outcome of its consultation on reforming anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision, primarily for professional services, by creating a Single Professional Services Supervisor (SPSS), with the Financial [...]
Rolex is London’s most stolen luxury watch, but few recovered by Met Police

October 21, 2025

Over 5,000 luxury watches have been stolen in London over the last three years, but barely one in 88 of these watches has been recovered by the Metropolitan Police. According to a Freedom of Information request seen by City AM, there have been 5,180 high-value watches, worth £3,000 or more, stolen between January 2022 and [...]
Waymo’s driverless taxi UK rollout puts legal system to the test

October 21, 2025

The UK is set to become the first European country to welcome Waymo’s driverless taxis but lawyers caution that current laws are fundamentally incompatible with the technology. Last week, Waymo announced its UK launch will start with a small fleet of human-supervised Jaguar I-PACE electric vehicles “in the coming weeks,” before moving to fully autonomous [...]
Execs see pound signs in AI tech, not just efficiency

October 20, 2025

C-suite business executives are even more enthusiastic about AI than the lawyers and accountants at the professional services firms advising them. According to research by Thomson Reuters, 90 per cent of corporate C-suite leaders say AI will have ‘high’ or ‘transformational’ impact in the next five years, compared to just 80 per cent of lawyers [...]
UK legal sector sees strong growth but AI puts pressure on hourly billing system

October 20, 2025

The legal sector in the UK continues to outperform despite challenging market conditions but the uncertainty around cyber attacks could impede firms’ strategic objectives. According to the PwC Law Firm Survey 2025, the Top 10 law firms have reported UK fee income growth of 8.1 per cent, compared to 5.2 per cent across all international [...]
Reed Smith latest to enter fledgling Saudi legal market

October 20, 2025

Transatlantic law firm Reed Smith has stormed into Saudi Arabia, becoming the latest international law firm to plant its flag in the Kingdom’s new legal market. Two years ago, Saudi Arabia changed its law to allow foreign law firms to operate independently. The Saudi government’s strategy was to attract international business and legal expertise for [...]
Square Mile bespoke tailor Tom James takes legal action against ex-employee

October 16, 2025

Tailoring giant Tom James launched legal action in London against a former employee, seeking to enforce restrictive covenants and confidentiality obligations. Tom James Company, the UK entity of its US giant, located on Old Jewry, has launched legal action against a former sales professional, Max Potter. The company alleged in its claim, seen by City [...]

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

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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