UK law firm mergers rose last year as ‘growing by acquisition’ becomes more attractive May 22, 2023 New data reveals the number of law firm mergers in the UK has risen by nearly a quarter in the past year – from 99 in 2021 to 122 in 2022. New research from accountancy firm Hazlewoods shows merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the sector has rebounded following a pandemic slump. According to Hazlewoods, [...]
Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling merger to forge £2.7bn law firm May 22, 2023 Law firms Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling announced plans to merge late last night, in a move which would create a firm with approximately $3.4bn (£2.7bn) in combined revenues. The tie up marks one of the biggest legal mergers in recent history, forging a firm with 3,900 lawyers across 49 offices around the [...]
City law firm tells junior partners to cough up £20,000-£42,000 each May 9, 2023 Junior partners at City law firm Withers will have to contribute up to £42,000 each in a newly announced cash call. The London-headquartered firm, which specialises in services for high-net worth individuals, said the decision was taken to allow junior partners to be “more fully involved” with the business. “We have asked junior equity partners [...]
‘Bomb like’ devices planted in England’s legal heartland amid £1m court wrangle with a top lawyer April 24, 2023 Two bomb-like devices were planted in England’s legal heartland as part of a grudge campaign against a senior lawyer involved in a £1 million legal wrangle, a court has heard. Andrew Sutcliffe KC was targeted at his chambers in Gray’s Inn in central London as part of a plot to cause him and another lawyer [...]
Dealmakers League: Top M&A Investment Bankers & Lawyers in the UK April 18, 2023 | City Talk By Datasite Who’s leading the pack in the UK among M&A investment bankers and lawyers? Datasite’s Dealmakers League, in partnership with MergerLinks, identifies the top M&A professionals, based on announced transactions they were involved in, across various regions, in 2022. In the UK, the top ten M&A investment bankers came from eight different firms, with [...]
No firms charged with ‘failure to prevent’ tax evasion in 6 years – here’s why April 3, 2023 The UK taxman has not charged any British firm with the ‘failure to prevent tax evasion’ offence since it was introduced six years ago, HMRC has confirmed. Under the offence, introduced in 2017, a British company can be criminally prosecuted if it was found to have not put adequate checks and systems to prevent its [...]
Who has been hit hardest by £21bn of pandemic fraud, and will the taxpayer EVER get it back? March 30, 2023 The UK Government has lost £21bn worth of taxpayers money due to fraud since the start of the pandemic, that is “very unlikely” to be unrecovered, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO said that many public bodies are unaware of the amount of fraud they face, as it revealed that levels of [...]
HSBC, SocGen and BNP Paribas raided in France as part of ‘cum cum’ tax probe March 28, 2023 French authorities today raided the Paris offices of five major banks – including HSBC, BNP Paribas, and Société Générale – in relation to an ongoing fraud and money laundering investigation. In a statement, France’s national fraud prosecutor said the raids relate to a preliminary investigation into so-called ‘cum cum’ schemes, which was opened in December [...]
Top City firms pledge to hike contributions to employees’ pensions pots amid concerns over looming savings crunch March 21, 2023 A coalition of top City firms today vowed to boost the contributions they make into their employees’ pensions in response to growing concerns about the potential for a looming savings crunch. Aviva, Phoenix and Herbert Smith Freehills all pledged to give pensions contributions equivalent to at least seven per cent of their workers’ salaries in [...]
Why AI tools, like GPT, are now at the frontline of the City’s talent war? March 19, 2023 Major advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology are rapidly transforming the ways that law firms and accounting firms work. The world’s top professional services firms are now increasingly starting to use increasingly sophisticated AI tech in their everyday work. However, increased use of AI technology is not just the inevitable result of technological innovation, but [...]