associate news

Another five firms have been fined for AML breaches, which follows on the heels of six that were recently fined £800 each with £600 costs; it is of note that two of these firms held the CQS accreditation and another two held the Lexcel accreditation; I hope they notified the Law Society in line with the Scheme Rules (it will be interesting to see what, if any, impact breaches in this key compliance area has on their accreditations).

With changed economic and political influences, coal mining has now virtually ceased in the UK. Although there are a few proposals for underground mines in the pipeline (such as the proposal to mine Coking coal in Cumbria), this seems unlikely to change in the near future. Equally, the likelihood of any new quarried coal mining obtaining planning consent is remote. One of the largest operators, Hargeaves, recently announced their intention to wind down operations. Given this, we could be forgiven for asking why a coal search is still necessary? We’ll attempt in this article to explain why.

Cyber incidents as a result of ransomware are rising at an alarming rate according to figures published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The number of reported data breaches following ransomware attacks between January to March this year had increased by 150% compared to the same period in 2020 and had risen by 136% year-on-year for the period April to June.

Commercial success is the driving force for ambitious law firms and, speaking to our clients, it’s no surprise many have a renewed determination to re-evaluate current business practices and strategies

iManage helps prepare legal and professional services firms for the Future of Work by providing cloud-based services while maintaining proven on-premise offerings

Knights, the UK’s fastest growing legal and professional services business outside of London, has almost doubled in size during the past 18 months. Adoption of technology has long been central to Knights’ growth strategy as it seeks to improve processes to the benefit of its professionals and clients. As part of this, Knights has been using Search Acumen’s commercial platform ForeSite for a long time. 

New figures released by HMRC revealed that inheritance tax payments during 2020-21 totalled £5.4bn – increasing by 4% (£190m) on the last tax year. This has affected 33,000 people who have been hit with a tax bill, which the Office for Budget Responsibility say is up by a third, with the average payment around £160k.

Award-winning Liverpool and London-based business lawyers and advisers, O’Connors Legal Services Limited, has appointed insurance lawyer Alison Chu as a Solicitor.

A major 40 m landslide occurred at Nefyn Bay in North Wales earlier this year sparking concern for nearby residents and business owners. The area is prone to regular small-scale cliff collapses due to the superficial deposits of clays and silts making up Nefyn Bay which are easily eroded by the sea. More concerning, however, are the nine large landslides have been reported within a few miles of this location since records began.

This week is an important time for surrogacy as it marks ‘National Surrogacy Week’ and Anne-Marie Hamer at Spencer West LLP; Member of IDR  focuses on how the area of Surrogacy law is there to shape the future, and what ‘the future holds for surrogacy around the world’.