Top Stories

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  BP Preparing Sale Of North Sea Business In Strategy Revamp

  By Najiyya Budaly

  BP PLC said Friday it has put its North Sea business up for sale after six decades of operations, as industry gr...(read more)

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  Airbus Pays HMRC £6.4M Over Export Control Breaches

  By Josh White

  Aerospace giant Airbus reached an agreement with the U.K. tax authority to pay £6.4 million ($8.6 million) to se...(read more)

• Why Law Firms Still Back LLPs After BlueCrest Tax Ruling

  By Marialuisa Taddia

  Limited liability partnerships are still the structure of choice for law firms trying to keep pace with a London lateral market that shows little sign of slowing, even after a recent ruling by the U.K. Supreme Court raised fresh questions about tax and governance for those using the model.

• Advanz Limits Takeda Patent Team's Access To Biosimilar Info

  By Jamie Lennox

  A London judge restricted the activities of two in-house lawyers at Takeda on Friday to ensure they don't use Advanz's confidential information for purposes that fall outside their ongoing bowel disease drug patent clash.

• BlackBerry Can Pursue $6M Fee Claim Despite 4-Year Delay

  By Eddie Beaver

  BlackBerry Ltd. can pursue its $6 million claim against a telecoms company over allegedly unpaid licensing fees after an appeals court ruled Friday that the case should not be struck out, despite the software company leaving it dormant for almost four years.

• Goldman Sachs Must Pay £1.45M For Paternity Leave Firing

  By Adele Redmond

  A former Goldman Sachs compliance officer has won £1.45 million ($1.93 million) after the investment bank discriminated against him by sacking him while he was on paternity leave.

• Safa Wife Bids To Slip Net Tying Her To $2B Tuna Bonds Case

  By Eddie Beaver

  The widow of shipbuilding magnate Iskandar Safa urged an appeals court Thursday to overturn a ruling allowing Mozambique to add her to its bribery case after the country secured a $1.9 billion damages award, arguing that any claim against her belongs in Lebanon.

• KPMG Probed By FRC Over Audit Of John Wood Group

  By William Janes

  The accounting regulator said Thursday that it is investigating KPMG and two accountants over an audit of engineering firm John Wood Group PLC, which was fined £13 million ($17.4 million) this year for making misleading financial statements.

• Duty To Consult On Staff Monitoring Would Increase Disputes

  By Adele Redmond

  Lawyers warn that a proposal from the government to require employers to consult on how they use workplace monitoring technology would lead to disputes with workers and their unions — but any lesser reform won't improve workers' rights as employers seek to avoid scrutiny of their methods.

• Matt Hancock Wins Libel Fight Over 'Antisemitic' COVID Tweet

  By Robbie Kalus

  Matt Hancock defeated a libel claim Wednesday when a London appeals court ruled that the former U.K. health secretary could rely on the honest opinion defense in describing a tweet by former Member of Parliament Andrew Bridgen as "antisemitic."

• Billionaire Sheikh Can't Duck Service Of €83M Debt Claim

  By Robbie Kalus

  A Saudi sheikh who owes liquidators €83 million ($95 million) failed on Wednesday to frustrate possession proceedings against his home on Britain's most expensive street, as a London court ruled that the claim forms could be served to his solicitors.

• Bahrain Spyware Ruling Opens Door To State Hack Claims

  By Joanne Faulkner

  A decision by the U.K. Supreme Court to allow two Bahraini dissidents to sue the Gulf state over alleged spyware attacks on them could encourage more claims against foreign governments accused of hacking people in Britain from sites overseas, lawyers say.

• Macfarlanes Posts Turnover Of £390M In 'Transitional' Year

  By Ashish Sareen

  Macfarlanes LLP said Wednesday that its turnover hit a record £389.5 million ($518.4 million), profits rose 3%, and profit per partner remained flat in what it described as "a transitional year" amid a challenging market backdrop.

• TUI Defeats Pilots' Challenge Over Union-Backed Benefit Cuts

  By Eddie Beaver

  Travel company TUI lawfully reduced long-term illness benefits for a group of pilots receiving income protection payments because the changes were made through a collective agreement with their union rather than being imposed unilaterally, an appeals court ruled Wednesday.