Aon fined £5.25m for making 'suspicious' payments

One of London's biggest insurance brokers, Aon, was today fined £5.25 million for anti-corruption failings after making suspicious payments to help win business in overseas jurisdictions.

Clifford Chance to axe up to 80 London lawyers

Clifford Chance, the worlds largest law firm by revenue, has begun a redundancy consultation that could see up to 80 lawyers lose their jobs in London.

Fusty image and poor pay put women off being judges

The judiciary is losing out on some of the best talent in the legal profession because the work of a High Court judge is perceived as fusty, old-fashioned and underpaid.

In the City: backhanders

Backhander

Lawyer of the Week: Pete Weatherby

Pete Weatherby, a barrister at Garden Court North Chambers in Manchester, acted for Michael Shields, the Liverpool supporter who was found guilty of attempted murder in Bulgaria and jailed for 15 years. The sentence was later reduced to ten years on appeal, and Shields was repatriated to serve the balance of his sentence in an English prison.

Bruce Houlder, QC, the top criminal silk taking on the Armed Forces

When appointed the first civilian in charge of military prosecutions, Bruce Houlder, QC, faced accusations that he would let our boys hang out to dry. Others said that he had been put in post to whitewash the crimes of the military. Houlder, who took over on January 1 as the independent Director of Service Prosecutions for all three Armed Forces, is determined to prove that he can steer a middle course.

Fraud: the public are in a mood for show trials of guilty managers

This is the year when the pursuit, exposure and prosecution of fraud will be a very big business story. Already, almost every fraud lawyer in London will say that his or her workload has boomed and that Bernard Madoff has become the poster boy for what will become a substantial global legal industry.

Bernard Madoff puts skids under Santanders profit hopes

Santander, the Spanish owner of Abbey and Alliance & Leicester, looks likely to miss its ambitious 10 billion (£9 billion) profit target for 2008 after suffering hits from the Bernard Madoff scandal and the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman of Satyam, admits £1bn fraud and quits

The chairman of one of Indias largest IT outsourcers has resigned after confessing to a £1 billion fraud, in a scandal that has been dubbed the countrys Enron.

FSA could extend rule on short-selling disclosure to all public companies

Britains top City regulator is examining whether to extend disclosure of short-selling to all 3,489 companies publicly traded in the UK.

FSA fortifies campaign to stamp out insider deals

The crackdown on insider-dealing suspects was stepped up yesterday as the Financial Services Authority brought its fourth criminal prosecution in 12 months. Previously, the FSA preferred to use its in-house civil system of fines.

FSA steps up insider dealing blitz

The crackdown on insider dealing suspects was stepped up today as the Financial Services Authority (FSA) brought its fourth criminal prosecution in 12 months.

FSA considers forcing disclosure of all short positions

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is considering forcing investors to disclose short positions in all 3,489 shares traded on UK exchanges despite dropping a ban on short-selling of financial stocks this week.

Simmons & Simmons named most gay-friendly law firm

Simmons & Simmons has been named the most gay-friendly law firm in the UK by a leading lobby group.

Nigel Boardman: law firms right to target underperforming partners

Law firms are right to cut underperforming partners as they look to slash costs ahead of a downturn, the UKs leading corporate lawyer said.

President Sarkozy to scrap super-sleuth examining magistrates

The examining magistrate, a pillar of French justice, is to be scrapped in a plan by President Sarkozy to bring the criminal system closer to Anglo-American common law.

£6m of sick miners' awards went to Arthur Scargill's union

Arthur Scargill's trade union was paid more than £6 million by a firm of solicitors that deducted the money from compensation awarded to sick miners for industrial disease, a tribunal was told.

Kaupthing sues Britain over UK subsidiary

Kaupthing is suing the Government over its handling of the stricken Icelandic bank's UK subsidiary in a legal action bankrolled by the Icelandic Government.

Thousands bankrupted over unpaid council tax

Thousands of vulnerable people are being forced into bankruptcy as town halls use increasingly aggressive tactics to chase council tax arrears.

Iceland brings legal action over Kaupthing UK demise

Kaupthing, the state-controlled Icelandic bank, has confirmed that it will sue the British Government over the Treasurys decision to place Kaupthings UK arm into administration last October.