MoJ denies telling court staff to hand over names of striking barristers July 4, 2022 The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has denied telling court staff to name striking barristers, after the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) threatened legal action over claims that any such instruction would breach UK data protection laws. An MoJ spokesperson said any claims the Justice Secretary or the MoJ told court staff to report the names of barristers who fail [...]
Grant Thornton settles £200m lawsuit with Patisserie Valerie’s administrators June 27, 2022 Grant Thornton has settled a £200m lawsuit with Patisserie Valerie’s bankruptcy administrators over its role in the café chain’s collapse. The London headquartered accountancy giant has reached agreement to settle its case with Patisserie Valerie’s administrators out of court, according to the Sunday Telegraph who broke the news. In a statement sent to City A.M., [...]
Diversity goals: Improving trust encouraged 80 per cent of employees to share data voluntarily, PwC partner says June 17, 2022 There is an increasing amount of trust when it comes to handing over personal data voluntarily, with a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) saying it has shot up from 15 per cent in 2018 to 80 per cent this year. The comments came during an event hosted by Datasite featuring an expert panel discussion about improving [...]
Mishcon de Reya delays IPO for the ‘foreseeable future’ June 8, 2022 London law firm Mishcon de Reya has put its plans to float on the stock exchange on hold, after saying it plans to set them aside for the “foreseeable future”. The Silver Circle firm said it had decided to scrap its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) due to current “market conditions”. In a [...]
Fugitive Russian oligarch allowed to sell Belgravia mansion to pay £10m legal fees May 26, 2022 A High Court judge has said fugitive Russian banker Georgy Bedzhamov should be allowed to sell his £35m Belgravia mansion, to pay his lawyers £10m in legal fees. The High Court gave Bedzhamov the OK to sell his mansion on London’s ultra-expensive Belgrave Square, to pay £5m to Mishcon de Reya and a further £5m [...]
Mishcon de Reya hikes salaries for newly qualified lawyers to £90,000 a year May 19, 2022 London law firm Mishcon de Reya has given its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers an eight per cent pay rise, after upping their salaries from £83,000 to £90,000. The pay hike leaves Mishcon lagging behind its Silver Circle rivals, including Ashurst and Herbert Smith Freehills, who both pay NQs salaries of £105,000 a year In a [...]
Google and DeepMind face class action lawsuit over patient data deal with London hospital May 16, 2022 London law firm Mishcon de Reya is bringing forward a major class action lawsuit against artificial intelligence (AI) firm DeepMind and its sister company Google over claims the two firms misused UK patients’ medical records while working with the Royal Free Hospital. The lawsuit, filed to the High Court on behalf of 1.6m individuals, comes [...]
Law firms face moral dilemma over Russia exit as Ukraine crisis reveals widening split May 9, 2022 Following Vladimir Putin’s decision to send Russian troops into Ukraine on 24 February 2022, major companies from across the globe began cutting their links to Russia. As multinationals from across Western world, including McDonald’s and Coca Cola, piled out of Russia, a number of high-profile law firms also sought to distance themselves from the country, [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile? April 13, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. LHV UK Fintech and crypto banking services provider LHV UK has bolstered its board with an independent non-executive director. Stepping onto the board at the beginning of May, Keith Butcher joins the City based firm with a raft [...]
Mishcon de Reya strikes deal with UCL to fund research into Artificial Intelligence (AI) April 11, 2022 London law firm Mishcon de Reya has struck a deal with UCL to fund research into use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal sector. Mishcon’s decision to fund research into AI comes as the firm now believes AI technology will revolutionise the legal sector and transform the ways that lawyers work. In striking a [...]