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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Burford Capital invests in London-based legal advisory firm

September 9, 2025

Dual-listed financial firm Burford Capital has made a minority investment in London-based Kindleworth as the firm seeks to invest in businesses that are “reshaping the legal landscape”. Founded in 2012, Kindleworth was launched as an advisory and consulting service to provide support to law firms, encompassing finance, compliance, technology, HR, operations, and marketing. Since its [...]
UK insurers face ‘data quality’ obstacles in AI adoption

September 9, 2025

British insurers are facing a bigger AI obstacle than expected, as poor quality data is preventing underwriters from accelerating adoption. A new report by tech firm CI&T, in collaboration with Reuters Events, revealed that nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of underwriters identified fragmented and unstructured data as the primary barrier to AI transformation. The next top [...]
Harman review: “Career-limiting or career-ending” sanctions needed for bully judges and predatory barristers

September 8, 2025

A damning report by Harriet Harman KC has found the Bar does “not always” uphold its high standards when it comes to bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment. Harman, chair of the Independent Review, stated in her 128-page report on the Bar that there is a “culture of impunity” for those at the top who engage [...]
Cross-party politicians urges Starmer to prioritise audit watchdog reform

September 8, 2025

The Prime Minister has been urged by 66 MPs and Lords in a cross-party alliance to prioritise the long-overdue Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill that was promised last year. In the King’s Speech in July 2024, the newly elected Labour government unshelved the Bill that would reform the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) into a [...]
Rayner out: What is happen next for Labour’s cabinet?

September 5, 2025

Following Angela Rayner’s resignation from her roles as deputy prime minister, housing secretary, and deputy leader of the Labour Party, what are the following steps to replace her? Rayner admitted to having underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 seaside flat in Hove, and referred herself to the ethics watchdog Sir Laurie Magnus on Wednesday. On Friday, [...]
Rayner resigns: Legal advice excuse falls flat in tax duty scandal

September 5, 2025

Angela Rayner threw her lawyers under the bus over her brewing tax scandal, but the lawyers rebutted, citing the “arrows stuck” in their backs, as experts insisted she shouldn’t have hid “behind legal advice”. When it emerged that Rayner had underpaid £40,000 in tax on her £800,000 property in Hove, it prompted calls for her [...]
HMRC names barrister in tax avoidance list for first time

September 4, 2025

In an unprecedented move, HMRC has added a practising barrister, identified as the ‘designer’ of a tax avoidance scheme, to its list of tax avoidance promoters. Tax barrister Setu Kamal, with 20 years of experience, stands accused of designing four tax avoidance schemes and producing the contract templates crucial to their operation. Those schemes were [...]
Ex-wife of sanctioned former Russian PM wins divorce appeal

September 4, 2025

The former Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Potanin, is set to face a multi-billion-pound divorce case in England after his ex-wife won her case at the Court of Appeal today. Natalia Nikolaevna Potanina was married to Potanin for around thirty years before divorcing in Russia in 2014. However, she had argued that the Russian court’s [...]
Government launches consultation to ‘strengthen’ £100bn design sector

September 4, 2025

The UK government has launched its most extensive review of design protection in decades, aiming to modernise the system, tackle abuse, and support the nation’s £100bn design economy. The consultation was launched by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) as a result of problems facing the sector, including its reputation as ‘David vs Goliath’ for smaller [...]
Lloyd’s of London BluePrint Two delayed, again

September 4, 2025

The world’s leading insurance and reinsurance market, Lloyd’s of London, has delayed the rollout of its strategy to digitalise the market for the fourth time. Blueprint Two was launched six years ago, labelled an “ambitious strategy” by the market. The programme was pitched as delivering a “profound” change in the market through digitalisation. Lloyd’s, together [...]

Oxford Street pedestrianisation brings ‘staggering’ shopping boost

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

The Capitalist: City AM reporter gets royal trashing by AI slop

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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