The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation on whether in-house lawyers need to be policed under the watchdog’s Senior Managers Regime, in an attempt to clarify uncertainties regarding the overall responsibility of an in-house legal function under FCA rules.
Ashurst board to select next managing partner as Collis prepares to step down in May
Ashurst is on the look-out for the firm’s next managing partner as current head James Collis is to stand down after completing his term at the end of May 2016.
Access to Asia: RPC seals Singapore tie-up as it targets banking litigation
UK law firm RPC has agreed a tie-up with Singapore firm Premier Law as it seeks out claims against the major banks. The joint venture is to go live on 1 May this year.
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SFO fails to secure convictions of six City brokers in Libor case
Constituting a major blow to the Serious Fraud Office, a UK jury has acquitted six City brokers who were alleged to have helped manipulate the London interbank offered rate (Libor), just months after the high profile conviction of former banker Tom Hayes.
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Guest post: Do companies have a duty to avoid taxes?
Here’s a transaction that did the rounds some years ago.
If I wanted some foreign exchange in the future I could enter into a contract with a bank by which it would sell me some. Assume that, in order to get a bank to promise to give me $2bn in twelve months, I had to promise to give it £1.5bn in twelve months.
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Growth mode: Kennedys bolts-on US law capability with local hires and forms fifth LatAm alliance
Kennedys has made two local partner hires in Miami in a move which will allow the firm to practice US law for the first time. US-qualified Neil Bayer and Dan Sanders will join Kennedys’ Miami office and will oversee the firm’s US advisory capability. The hires come as the firm aims to give ‘rise to new local growth opportunities and strengthen its London market capability’.
Freshfields top-paid member takes home £3.2m in 2015, 68% more than year before
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer‘s highest-paid LLP member took home 68% more last year, pocketing £3.2m at the end of the 2014/15 financial year, compared to £1.9m the previous year.
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Legal aid u-turn: Gove scraps two-tier contract regime
More than two years after the government announced a wave of cuts to legal aid contracts, followed by continued calls by solicitors for their abolition, today (28 January) the Lord Chancellor Michael Gove (pictured) has made a surprise decision to scrap the radical two-tier contract regime.
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King & Wood Mallesons opens Cambridge near-shoring office
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is to launch an office in Cambridge which will initially house a real estate team, as part of a cost-efficiency drive for clients.
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RBS plans ‘clean up’ and sets aside £2bn for PPI claims and US litigation
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has warned it will report its eighth successive full-year loss this year as it sets aside £2bn for past scandals including claims relating to mortgage-backed securities and payment protection insurance.
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‘Grave concerns’: Senior judges blast government over court fees
Three of the nation’s most senior civil judges appeared before the justice committee of the House of Commons yesterday and condemned government plans to raise court fees.
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Linklaters and HSF land roles as Aussie pension fund ups stake in £5bn King’s Cross redevelopment
As pension, sovereign and private equity funds rush to invest in prime London real estate, Linklaters has picked up a major client as Australia’s largest pension fund purchased a 42% stake in the £5bn redevelopment of King’s Cross.
Latham takes another private equity partner from the Magic Circle as Linklaters’ Traugott departs
US firm Latham & Watkins has hired Linklaters‘ German head of private equity Rainer Traugott as it continues its aggressive push into the European private equity market.
News UK recruits Kingsley Napley partner McBride as general counsel
Rupert Murdoch-owned media giant News UK has recruited high-profile Kingsley Napley partner Angus McBride as its general counsel (GC), just months after its decision to re-hire former Sun editor Rebekah Brooks as chief executive.
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Slater & Gordon plans closure of two UK offices
Months after the UK government announced unexpected personal injury reforms, Slater & Gordon is consulting on the closure of two its UK offices, a move which could affect 51 staff.
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US and Irish firms act on $16.5bn Tyco-Johnson Controls merger
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, A&L Goodbody and Arthur Cox have all landed roles advising on the $16.5bn merger of industrial company Johnson Controls and security provider Tyco – a deal that will lower the new company’s tax bill.
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Colt Group legal chief Saphra departs following structural review
Colt Group’s longstanding group general counsel Robin Saphra (pictured) has left the company following an internal structural review. He is succeeded by Caroline Griffin Pain, who becomes company secretary and legal counsel.
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Irwin Mitchell top earner pay falls as employee costs up 7%, accounts reveal
LB25 firm Irwin Mitchell has slashed the amount given to its highest paid earner by 30% from £1.22m to £849,000, despite a lift in profits, the firm’s accounts show.
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Revolving doors: Withers and Watson Farley make City hires as A&O boosts Frankfurt and New York practices
In a busy week for lateral hires, Withers and Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) have made appointments in the City while Allen & Overy (A&O) has boosted its German and US offices.
High Court cases against law firms down 47% in a year
The post-financial crisis wave of professional negligence suits against law firms appears to have passed, as RPC figures show a 47% drop in High Court cases against law firms last year.
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