Carillion hearing: KPMG partner says he was let down by junior colleagues January 12, 2022 A former KPMG partner, who signed off an audit giving debt-laden Carillion a clean bill of health, blamed junior staff at an FRC hearing.
Met Police sued over refusal to investigate Downing Street Christmas party allegations January 11, 2022 The Metropolitan Police has been sued by a legal charity over its failure to investigate Downing Street Christmas party allegations. The Good Law Project has issued formal legal proceedings against Britain’s largest police force after pleading with the Met to take action in December. The not-for-profit sent a letter to the Met before Christmas, asking [...]
Katten hikes London associate pay as competition for City law firms soar January 10, 2022 Law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman has raised its pay for London associates by some £10,000 for each experience level today, as the competition for applicants soars in London. The new salary pay-grades, which also accompany potentially lofty bonus’, will see junior lawyers on a £108,000 annual salary. Associates with one year post-qualified experience (PQE) will have [...]
Shipping services provider Clarksons forecasts profit above £69m January 7, 2022 Shipping services provider Clarksons has said underlying profit before tax for 2021 is now expected to hit at least £69m. The London-based firm, which provides integrated services and investment banking capabilities to shipping markets, said December trading was stronger than anticipated. Clarksons said areas to surpass expectations included its broking division, where the sale and [...]
Mischon de Reya hit with record fine after breaching money laundering rules January 6, 2022 Top City law firm Mishcon de Reya has been slapped with a record £232,500 fine, plus costs, after major breaches of money laundering rules. The prestigious firm has agreed to pay a £232,500 fine, in addition to £50,000 towards investigation costs, after a probe from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The regulator concluded that certain [...]
European courts dismiss human rights appeal over long-running ‘gay cake’ dispute January 6, 2022 The European Court of Human Rights dismissed a challenge against the long-running "gay cake" case this morning, stating that the claimant had "failed to exhaust domestic remedies" available to him in the UK legal system.
Risks of bias: Ghislaine Maxwell plans to request new trial after revelations jury member was victim of sexual abuse January 6, 2022 Revelations have come to light that one of the jurors in Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial was a victim of sexual abuse. Therefore the socialite, convicted of conspiring to recruit and groom teenage girls to be abused by Jeffrey Epstein, intends to request a new trial. Two defence lawyers — Jeffrey Pagliuca and Laura Menninger — said [...]
Magic Circle: Clifford Chance partner takes home record £3.2m earnings January 5, 2022 Clifford Chance’s highest earning lawyer took home more than £3m in earnings last year, as firms battle it out for the best pay. The Magic Circle law firm confirmed in July that the average take-home for full equity partners has jumped nine per cent to £1.85m each over the last 12 months. Fellow City law [...]
London law firms hired record number of partners in 2021 January 4, 2022 Propelled by record revenue and profits, commercial law firms made 26 per cent more partner hires in 2021 compared to the previous year, according to a new report. Following vaccine rollouts the economy began to recover from the pandemic outbreak in 2020, leading to a boom in dealmaking which has driven demand for law firms [...]
PwC boss warns ‘negativity’ about audit industry will put off new recruits December 29, 2021 The UK head of PwC has warned that continued criticism by politicians and industry watchdogs will damage the audit sector, according to reports. Kevin Ellis, UK chair and senior partner at PwC, said the reputational harm would make it harder to attract and retain auditors, making it more likely for the audit giant to look [...]