Men dominate investment banking deals, research finds October 28, 2019 A new ranking of Europe’s top investment bankers reveals that no women were included in the top 10 by number of deals over £100m. According to the research by data platform Mergerlinks , the top deal doer in Europe in the year ended the first half of 2019 was Rothschild & Co banker Dominic Hollamby [...]
M&C Saatchi set to appoint PwC as its auditor following accounting scandal October 28, 2019 Advertising agency M&C Saatchi is set to appoint Big Four accountancy firm PwC as its new auditor following an accounting scandal that wiped out more than half of its share price. In August the advertising agency network said it had set aside £6.4m after it had spotted an error in its accounts. Its previous auditor [...]
EY accused of failing to report drug gang’s gold bar money laundering October 28, 2019 Big Four accountancy firm EY failed to report evidence of smuggling by a criminal gang that was using black market gold to launder dirty money, according to a new investigation. The crime gang allegedly collected money from drug dealers across the UK and Europe and then laundered the money by buying and selling black market [...]
Nearly half of in-house lawyers asked to advise on unethical issues October 28, 2019 A survey of in-house lawyers published today has found that 45 per cent have been asked to advise on something ethically debatable. The study shines a light on the tightrope in-house lawyers have to walk between acting commercially and upholding professional ethics. Read more: Firms must stop using NDAs to cover up harassment, say MPs [...]
Can Freshfields’ young guns retain the Magic Circle firm’s private equity crown? October 27, 2019 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s youthful private equity team are on the frontline of the struggle between UK and US law firms to control the City legal market. The firm has led the European private equity deal rankings for the last three years, seeing off the challenge of both Magic Circle and US rivals. However, the shock [...]
KPMG could close Mayfair private members’ club in cost-cutting drive October 27, 2019 Big Four audit firm KPMG is reportedly planning on shutting down its five-storey Mayfair private members’ club as part of a cost-cutting drive. KPMG opened the club in a Mayfair townhouse at 20 Grosvenor Street in 2015. Number Twenty offers guests a private restaurant, a rooftop terrace and client meeting rooms. Read more: KPMG launches [...]
Revolving door spins at London litigation funder Augusta Ventures October 27, 2019 Litigation funder Augusta Ventures has launched a new team to back consumer class actions, but has also shed more than 10 per cent of its London workforce in a recent round of cuts. The funder said that despite cutting eight staff in London, it has grown overall, adding 11 new employees in recent months. Its [...]
DEBATE: In the wake of the Woodford scandal, is there enough oversight of fund managers? October 24, 2019 In the wake of the Woodford scandal, is there enough oversight of fund managers? Yes – Darius McDermott is managing director of FundCalibre There were a number of issues I took strong exception to in this week’s BBC Panorama programme on the Woodford saga, but the conclusion that there is very little regulatory oversight of fund [...]
Slater & Gordon boss talks life after Quindell October 23, 2019 Slater & Gordon’s new UK boss is keen to put the past behind him. On Monday the law firm settled a long-running fraud claim against insurer Watchstone, drawing a line under a turbulent period that threatened to consign the world’s first listed law firm to the history books. Slater had accused Watchstone – formerly Quindell [...]
Tech is top priority for UK’s leading law firms October 23, 2019 Technology is the key strategic priority for the UK’s leading law firms, a report published today showed. A survey of the UK’s top 100 law firms found more than four fifths (81 per cent) said technology was the most important area of strategic development for their firm. After technology investment, 41 per cent cited overseas [...]
