London’s audit giants are muscling in on law firms August 8, 2018 The City's top law firms are keeping a wary eye on the Big Four accountancy giants as the beancounters expand into the $600bn (£465bn) global legal services market. Managing partner of City law firm Fieldfisher Michael Chissick said: “They have very ambitious plans, that isn’t in doubt, audit is in decline and it is low [...]
Law firm Knights aims to raise £50m in largest-ever legal float June 26, 2018 Regional law firm Knights has said today it plans to raise £50m in its London float later this month in what will be the largest legal listing to date. The offer price has been set at 135p per ordinary share which will result in a market capitalisation of approximately £103.5m. The firm will received gross [...]
Tribunal raps FCA’s ‘troubling’ conduct towards former UBS trader banned for Libor rigging June 20, 2018 A tribunal has rapped the UK's financial watchdog for its conduct in a Libor rigging probe that saw former UBS trader Arif Hussein banned from the industry. Hussein, who held a junior position at the bank, attempted to overturn the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) decision to ban him from financial services for manipulating the London [...]
Former Barclays trader accused of Euribor rigging was ‘lowballing’ whistleblower, court hears June 19, 2018 A former Barclays trader on trial for allegedly rigging the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) was a whistleblower for the lowballing scandal that rocked the banking industry, a court has heard. "Lowballing" is a term used to describe the scandal that engulfed European and British banking when some banks during the credit crisis moved [...]
DWF latest law firm to catch flotation bug with £1bn IPO June 15, 2018 International law firm DWF is the latest law firm to signal its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange with a sale that could raise up to £1bn. The Times first reported that the firm was mulling an Initial Public Offering (IPO). It was later confirmed by the firm in a statement on its [...]
The system was flawed, says lawyer acting for trader accused of Euribor rigging June 14, 2018 The barrister defending a former Barclays trader accused of taking part in a conspiracy to rig the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) has said the system was "flawed" and that his client never acted dishonestly. Sean Larkin QC is defending Carlo Palombo against accusations of rigging the interest rate relied on by a number of [...]
Elite US law firm boosts top City associate pay to $340,000 as pay war rages June 12, 2018 Blue-blooded US law firm Cravath Swaine & Moore has set the pace in the junior lawyer pay war presently raging among the City’s elite US law firms. Cravath, which has offices in New York and London, has unveiled a new pay scale for junior lawyers and promised to dole out thousands in bonuses in order [...]
Deloitte announces reduced UK partner promotions round June 5, 2018 Big four accountant Deloitte has announced a reduced 2018 partner promotions round with the number making the grade in the UK and north west Europe both dipping. Partner promotions in the UK fell five per cent from 57 last year to 54 in 2018. The number and percentage of new female partners in the UK [...]
Euribor developer says it was ‘natural’ for banks to consider their commercial interests in rate submissions June 4, 2018 A senior executive responsible for developing the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor), which became the centre of a rigging scandal, has said it was "just natural" for traders to take into account their banks' commercial interests when submitting rates into the market. Helmut Konrad, a former president of the ACI in Germany who helped [...]
Who are the City’s best paid lawyers and what are they taking home? June 4, 2018 When private equity partner David Higgins started his new role in the City office of US law firm Kirkland & Ellis in April, he came with the weight of expectation generated by a reported $10m (£7m) salary. Higgins’ salary, which works out at nearly $200,000 per week, is almost unprecedented in the London legal market. [...]