Law firms face pressure to cut costs and offer ‘no win, no fee’ payment schemes March 24, 2022 An overwhelming majority of the UK’s biggest law firms are now facing pressure to cut the costs of their services, according to data shared exclusively with City PM Nine-in-ten partners in law firms with turnovers of more than £500m a year said they are facing pressure to reduce costs and use different billing arrangements, a [...]
Accounting vacancies boom will benefit London as job openings bounce back to pre-pandemic levels March 24, 2022 The number of job openings for accountancy positions has rebounded after dropping sharply during the pandemic. Vacancies in accounting are set to jump 6.9 per cent between this quarter and the next, to land at levels more 50 per cent higher than in Q2 2021. Following a lull in the hiring during the fourth quarter [...]
Lawyers counter P&O’s claims that it cannot be prosecuted March 24, 2022 Legal experts are disputing P&O’s claims that it is not subject to English law after company boss Peter Hebblethwaite said British courts have no power to prosecute the firm. The ferry operator claimed it had not broken UK laws, because its vessels are registered in Cyprus and Bermuda. The claims come after Prime Minister Boris [...]
Lloyds of London says Ukraine crisis will be ‘major claim’ in 2022 after returning to profitability March 24, 2022 Lloyds of London has warned the ongoing conflict in Ukraine will be a “major claim” this year, after posting a return to profitability on the back its best results in six years. The London insurer said it had returned to profitability after posting overall profits of £2.3bn for the full year 2021, compared to a [...]
Financial whistleblower takes UK watchdog to court over claims of unfair dismissal March 23, 2022 A former employee of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has claimed he was unfairly fired by the watchdog, after he raised concerns about systemic issues in the runup to the 2008 financial crisis. Former FCA risk manager Walker Sigismund told a tribunal that he was unfairly fired by the financial regulator after he filed 27 [...]
Judge calls for personal attacks to be kept out of divorce filings March 23, 2022 A Family Court judge has called on lawyers to refrain from using divorce filings to make personal attacks against their clients’ former spouses. In a ruling, High Court judge Mr Justice Peel told lawyers that filings should only include “evidence,” as he told off a lawyer for filing a “long statement” that “crossed the line” [...]
Lloyds to close 60 UK bank branches due to rise of online banking March 23, 2022 Lloyds Banking Group has said it is shutting 60 bank branches across the UK, due to customers switching to online banking. The banking conglomerate said it will close 24 Lloyds Bank branches, 19 Bank of Scotland branches, and 17 Halifax branches, on high streets across Britain, in response to record levels of online banking usage. [...]
MoJ puts out ‘urgent call’ for evidence from victims of legal threats and libel lawfare March 23, 2022 The UK’s Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has put out an “urgent call” for evidence of large firms and wealthy individuals using lawsuits to silence criticism. The call comes after the government vowed to crack down on those using legal threats to silence the press and “stifle legitimate criticism”. In a statement, justice secretary Dominic Raab [...]
Shares in Knights continue to plummet after law firm says return-to-office was blocked by Omicron March 23, 2022 Shares in London listed law firm Knights continued to fall today, after the firm blamed the Omicron variant for a “slowdown in corporate work.” In a trading update, Knights, which has 17 offices across Britain, said the “persistent effects of Omicron” and high rates of illness amongst its employees meant the firm failed to make [...]
Two-thirds of over-50s wish they had started saving for their pensions sooner March 23, 2022 Almost two thirds of over-50s wish they had started saving towards their retirement at an earlier stage, new data from Aviva shows. Close to half (49 per cent) of over-50s regret not saving for their pensions sooner, while 64 per cent said they wish they’d started saving sooner. More than a quarter (26 per cent) [...]
