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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Trump sues BBC for $10bn in Florida, citing producers trips to Mar-a-Lago

December 16, 2025

US Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the BBC in the Southern District of Florida, alleging that BBC producers travelled to Florida to film “significant portions of the [Panorama] documentary”. Last month, Trump threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn over the misleading edit of a Panorama programme, which spliced together two parts of [...]
English Common Law: Britain’s greatest soft power

December 11, 2025

From London’s boardrooms to Abu Dhabi’s courtrooms, English law shapes the rules of global business as it quietly but decisively finds itself at the heart of international deals and disputes. The late Joseph S. Nye defined ‘soft power’ in the 1980s as “The ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction [...]
Watchdog launches new probe into EY over ‘unauthorised’ audit reports

December 10, 2025

The accountancy watchdog has commenced a new investigation into the Big Four firm EY and two of its members. In an announcement on Wednesday morning, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) revealed that it has commenced an investigation into “unauthorised issuance of auditor’s reports to audited entities”. This comes after the Big Four firm informed the [...]
Netflix $72bn Warner offer: ‘I never saw it coming’ says co-founder Marc Randolph

December 10, 2025

Netflix’s former CEO and co-founder, Marc Randolph, said the $72bn bid by his former company last week for Warner Bros.’ film studios and streaming business, “came as a shock”. Speaking at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, Randolph told the audience, “I will confess I never saw that [move] coming. I haven’t worked at Netflix for quite [...]
David Cameron sounds alarm over British brain drain

December 10, 2025

Former Prime Minister Lord David Cameron has expressed concern about the exodus of British entrepreneurs and talent, warning that the UK government needs to set aside ‘other goals’ and prioritise business growth. Speaking at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, Lord Cameron acknowledged British talent leaving for places such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), stating: “I [...]
CMS rolls out Suits-inspired AI after saving lawyers 100 hours

December 10, 2025

Law firm CMS has said it aims to ‘stay ahead of the curve’ by rolling out legal tool Harvey AI after lawyers reported already seeing “meaningful time savings”. The law firm is set to extend the use of the AI tool, named after the fictional character in Suits, across all 21 CMS member organisations in [...]
UBS chief strategist: Market is not in a ‘bubble’, but US debt poses the real risk

December 9, 2025

Despite narrow market leadership that mirrors the crashes of the 1970s and 1990s, the equity market is not currently in a ‘bubble,’ according to UBS Investment Bank Chief Strategist Bhanu Baweja. Speaking at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, Baweja addressed investor concerns that just nine companies in the Russell 3000 have driven 72 per cent of [...]
UK legal sector books double-digit revenue growth in 2024

December 9, 2025

Total revenue from legal activities in the UK reached a record £52.3bn in 2024, up 11 per cent from 2023, according to a new report by TheCityUK, published in partnership with Barclays. The UK boasts the world’s second-largest legal services market, trailing only the US, thanks to the dominance of English common law. Overall, the [...]
Government puts anti-corruption spotlight on ‘corrupt lawyers, bankers, and accountants’

December 9, 2025

The UK government launched a new anti-corruption strategy targeting “professional enablers”, such as “corrupt lawyers, accountants and bankers” who help dirty money flow. It is estimated that over £100bn is laundered through the UK every year by the National Crime Agency (NCA). The corruption has also affected British businesses, which have faced 117,000 bribe offers [...]
Former Entain execs take Gambling Commission to court over failed 888 bid

December 9, 2025

The former CEO and chairman of Entain, the group behind Coral and Ladbrokes, are set to face the Gambling Commission at court on Tuesday over alleged misuse of private information. Kenny Alexander and Lee Feldman filed a civil case against the UK’s gambling regulator in October 2024. This action follows their failed 2023 leadership bid [...]

Nvidia shares set to slide as spy scandal threatens AI recovery

Women’s football doesn’t need to become men’s football to succeed

Tamdhu: The scotch whisky taking on Macallan

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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