FTSE falling short on communications, PR lobby warns October 7, 2022 Liz Truss has faced widespread criticism over her communication failures as markets have crashed in the wake of her “mini-budget”. However, the PR industry’s trade body has said FTSE 100 companies are also falling short on communications, in warning the UK’s top firms lack comms expertise at senior levels. Research by the Chartered Institute of [...]
Litigation funders warn EU regulation could hinder class-action lawsuits October 6, 2022 UK litigation funders have hit out at EU plans to regulate the sector in arguing the bloc’s proposals to cap fees could prevent class action lawsuits going forwards. The EU’s proposal is clear the litigation funding sector has the potential to support access to justice and help ensure public cases are brought to court, [...]
Lloyd’s of London investigates possible cyberattack October 6, 2022 Lloyd’s of London has launched an investigation into “unusual activity on its networks” that could possibly be linked to a cyberattack. The centuries-old insurance marketplace said it has “turned off” all external connectivity and has begun “resetting the Lloyd’s network and systems” as a “precautionary measure,” whilst it investigates the possible hack. “We have informed [...]
Bolt to face court battle over drivers’ employment rights October 6, 2022 Ride-hailing app Bolt is set to face a class action lawsuit calling for it to class its drivers as workers rather than self-employed contractors. Law firm Leigh Day has filed a claim against Bolt on behalf of more than 1,600 of its drivers in calling on the Estonian tech company to give its drivers holiday [...]
City lawyer avoids jail after telling client to ‘burn’ evidence in Ocado case October 5, 2022 A City lawyer, who instructed his client to “burn” chat logs to prevent them from being handed over to Ocado, has avoided going to prison after being handed a substantial fine. Ex-Jones Day partner Raymond McKeeve told an IT manager at a company founded by Ocado co-founder Jonathan Faiman, Today Development Partners (TDP), to “burn” [...]
Directors only owe duty to creditors on real risk of insolvency, UK’s Supreme Court rules October 5, 2022 The UK’s Supreme Court has dismissed a claim calling for the law to be changed to force company directors to start taking creditors into account at the first risk of insolvency. The Supreme Court ruling reaffirms the current position in law, in stating company directors are only required to begin prioritising creditors if it is [...]
Grant Thornton triples paternity leave offering as talent war continues October 5, 2022 Grant Thornton has tripled the length of its paid paternity leave offering from two to six weeks as the UK’s top accounting firms have increasingly turned to offering staff perks and benefits in their efforts to recruit and retain talent. The accounting firm will offer its staff six weeks of paid paternity leave from [...]
Goodwin to move staff from Hong Kong to set up in shop in Singapore October 4, 2022 Goodwin Procter has become the latest law firm to set up in Singapore, after outlining plans to relocate staff from Hong Kong. The Boston founded law firm’s new Singapore offices will become its second location in Asia, after Goodwin opened its Hong Kong office in 2008. The launch is set to see two Goodwin partners, [...]
FCA vows to take action against insurers falling short on business interruption claims October 4, 2022 The UK’s financial watchdog has warned insurers are falling short of its requirements in their handling of business interruption (BI) claims. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it will “consider using all regulatory tools” it has available to ensure insurers meet its standards after a review carried out by the watchdog determined insurers have “fallen [...]
Criminals turn to cross-blockchain tools to hide billions in cryptocurrencies October 4, 2022 Criminals are using complex new blockchain technologies to hide and launder billions in ill gotten gains. At least $4bn (£3.6bn) worth of illicit crypto-assets has been laundered via various “cross-chain” technologies, that let both legitimate and illegitimate users move funds between blockchains, analytics firm Elliptic said. Decentralised exchanges (DEXs), cross-chain bridges, and coin-swap services are [...]