EY to pay $10m to settle SEC misconduct charges August 3, 2021 Ernst & Young and three audit partners settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over claims of misconduct in their relationship with the chief accounting officer of a US company, it is widely reported. The big four firm agreed to a $10m (£7.2m) settlement to close the case on charges of audit independence [...]
London Stock Exchange traders hit by third Refinitiv outage today August 2, 2021 London Stock Exchange’s Refinitiv news and data platform Eikon experienced an outage of several hours today, the company said, its third such glitch this year. The company reported similar issues in April and June. An LSEG customer support representative said the issue which started mid-afternoon had mostly affected users in Asia and the Europe, Middle [...]
Civil fraud cases jump by 50 per cent and could rise as UK feels full covid economic impact August 2, 2021 The number of civil fraud cases heard in the courts has increased by 50 per cent in a year marred by the pandemic according to new analysis published today by international law firm RPC. Cases in the courts of England and Wales went up from 61 in 2019 to 94 in 2020. RPC blamed the [...]
Goodwin ups newly qualified lawyers pay to £147k in a second rise this year July 30, 2021 US law firm Goodwin Procter has bumped up the salaries of its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers in London for the second time this year, Morning Wire understands. Junior lawyers at the firm have been given a pay increase of 7 per cent bringing their annual salary to £147,000 less than six months after Goodwin gave [...]
Mishcon de Reya and ex partner face prosecution by solicitors regulator over sports clients money July 30, 2021 Mishcon de Reya and its former head of sport are being prosecuted by a legal regulator for how the prestigious city law firm handled money for some of its sports clients. Both Elizabeth Ellen, who stepped down as a partner at Mishcon to set up a sports consultancy last year, and the law firm would [...]
Exclusive: HMRC’s elite Offshore unit securing prison time for tax evaders trebled last year July 29, 2021 HMRC’s elite Offshore, Corporate and Wealthy (OCW) Unit secured convictions totalling 67 years of prison time for tax evaders last year, nearly trebling the total of just 23 years secured a year earlier. The increase in prison sentences is a sign that HMRC’s strategy of using targeted criminal investigations, rather than just civil penalties, as a [...]
The FCA is revamping itself to be more “assertive” July 29, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed changes to streamline its decision-making processes, in a bid to make it more efficient. The financial watchdog said discussions have been held about moving some decision-making responsibility from its Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC) to its Authorisations, Supervision and Enforcement divisions instead, in an announcement today. The RDC, a committee of [...]
Pupil barristers down by almost a third in 30 years July 29, 2021 The number of pupils for the bar has declined by almost 30 per cent since 1990, according to new research published by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) this week. The number of graduates starting pupillage in 2020 was 542, representing a fall of 28 per cent from 757 in 1991, according to the regulatory body. [...]
KPMG may rebuild restructuring arm one year after selling it for over £350m July 29, 2021 KPMG is reportedly creating a new division to advise on corporate restructurings, less than a year after it sold its UK insolvency advisory business for over £350m. The big four auditor made the move as a result of new competition laws which made achieving profits from its non-auditing services harder, according to the report in [...]
US law firms in the UK raise bonuses in battle for staff July 28, 2021 UK legal companies have been forced into a bidding war for junior associates employed by top-tier US firms. Top US law firm Goodwin Procter is offering sign-on bonuses to its London staff worth up to £36,000, according to a recruiter, Morning Wire understands. Last week Slaughter and May announced that it would increase pay for [...]