US law firms have ways of making partners support Republicans
Jousting between the Trump administration and large US law firms has prompted one former partner at the London office of a 'white shoe' practice to recall that American lawyers have historically been party political.
That lawyer related recently to Times Law spies that the firm would annually deduct $1,000 from each partner, which would then be donated to the Republican Party. The senior management was said to be particularly keen on George W Bush and that donation was imposed regardless of whether individual partners were supporters of the Democrats or any other party — and regardless of whether they were US citizens.
Guests at the launch of the book A Barrister for the Earth, by the Peruvian-born Monica Feria-Tinta, were treated to a novel
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
17 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Foreign Office staff told to consider resigning after challenging UK policy on Gaza
More than 300 Foreign Office staff have been told to consider resigning after they wrote a letter complaining they feared it had become complicit in Israel's alleged war crimes in Gaza. It is the fourth such internal letter from staff about the offensive in Gaza, which started in October 2023 in response to Hamas's deadly attack on Israel. In their letter of 16 May the staff, from embassies around the world and at various levels of seniority, questioned the UK's continued arms sales and what they called Israel's 'stark … disregard for international law'. The Foreign Office said it had systems for staff to raise concerns and added the government had 'rigorously applied international law' in relation to the war in Gaza. The reply to the letter was sent by the permanent under-secretary, Oliver Robbins, and Nick Dyer, the second most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office. They told the signatories: '[I]f your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound, your ultimate recourse is to resign from the civil service. This is an honourable course.' The reply did not address the substantive complaints by staff. The letter, first reported by the BBC, said: 'In July 2024, staff expressed concern about Israel's violations of international humanitarian law and potential UK government complicity. In the intervening period, the reality of Israel's disregard for international law has become more stark.' It went on to list the killing by Israeli forces of 15 humanitarian workers in March and Israel's suspension of all aid to Gaza in the same month 'leading many experts and humanitarian organisations to accuse Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war'. It said the UK government's position had contributed to 'the erosion of global norms', citing continued weapons exports and the visit to London in April by Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, 'despite concerns about violations of international law'. The Foreign Office described Sa'ar's visit as private, even though he met the foreign secretary, David Lammy. The staff letter added that 'supported by the Trump administration, the Israeli government has made explicit plans for the forcible transfer of Gaza's population'. In response, Robbins and Dyer said the department welcomed 'healthy challenge' as part of the policymaking process and had already set up a 'bespoke Challenge Board' and regular listening sessions with employees to hear concerns in this policy area. They wrote that staff were entitled to their personal views, but added it 'might be helpful' to 'remind' them of mechanisms available to those uncomfortable with policy. It went on to list a series of ways staff could raise issues, before adding that resignation was an 'ultimate recourse' and 'honourable course' for those with profound disagreements over government policy. '[T]he bargain at the heart of the British civil service is that we sign up to deliver the policies of the government of the day wholeheartedly, within the limits imposed by the law and the civil service code,' it said. The UK government's position is that Israel is 'at risk' of breaching humanitarian law, the threshold for barring arms exports, but says it is for international courts to determine if breaches of international law have occurred, which will not be fully determined for many years. Senior foreign office ministers are due to be challenged in the business select committee over why the government is continuing to sell parts and components to the F-35 programme without placing a condition that the parts are not sent on to Israel. The UK is not selling directly to Israel, and claims it has no option but to supply the parts or see the whole F-35 programme grind to a halt, affecting Nato operations defending Europe. The carve-out of F-35s from the ban on UK arms being sold to Israel, imposed in September, is being tested in the high court by the NGOs Global Legal Action Network and Al-Haq. The Foreign Office in its court submissions, likely to be the subject of cross-examination by the business committee, said it had determined Israel was not committing a genocide in Gaza, which appears to contradict the stance that only the UK courts can make such a ruling. It also said it could not take a position on specific attacks by Israel since it did not have definitive evidence. In September, Lammy announced the suspension of about 30 arms exports licences to Israel, and said the remaining licences were not relevant to the war in Gaza – although the government admits some of the licences allow exports to the Israel Defence Forces. Israel has consistently denied committing war crimes in Gaza, saying its actions are proportionate and necessary to eradicate Hamas, which it says uses hospitals and school premises to protect itself. The former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has gathered the names of 50 MPs backing his call for an independent public inquiry into UK involvement in military operations in Gaza. Corbyn has been among MPs pressing ministers to explain why RAF jets from the UK base in Akrotiri in Cyprus fly regularly over Gaza. More than 300 surveillance flights have been recorded, allegedly in search of Hamas-held hostages. Questions are also being asked if Israel acted lawfully by intercepting the ship Madleen in international waters, containing Greta Thunberg and 11 other campaigners seeking to highlight the blockade of food into Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition , the group operating the UK-flagged Madleen, said all 12 campaigners were 'being processed and transferred into the custody of Israeli authorities'. The Foreign Office has not commented.
Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Rayner handing ‘gift' to rich foreigners, complains Chelsea landlord
Angela Rayner's plans to overhaul Britain's 'feudal' leasehold system will hand wealthy foreigners a windfall at the expense of British taxpayers, one of London's biggest landowners has said. Hugh Seaborn, the chief executive of Cadogan Estates, the Earl Cadogan's property company, said plans to make it cheaper and easier for leaseholders to buy their properties outright amount to taxpayer-funded 'gift' to affluent residents in parts of central London. The reforms were proposed by the previous Conservative government but are being pursued by the current Labour administration. Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, said in March that the Government would abolish the 'feudal-era' leasehold system by the end of this parliament. Cadogan Estates owns £5.7bn worth of land, including more than 90 acres of Chelsea, and Mr Seaborn said that extending the new rules to cover all of the country would amount to a giveaway for wealthy non-doms with properties in plush parts of inner London. He said: 'Why should this gift be given by the Government from existing British businesses, that pay tax and are based in the UK, to wealthy leaseholders that have been represented and understood what they were buying? These aren't vulnerable people.' A 'large proportion' of leaseholders in the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Camden 'are non-UK residents', he claimed. 'So you could surmise ... that this may not be subject to UK tax, whereas property businesses that are based here, that are family-owned, are subject to UK tax.' Cadogan Estates made a £72.3m UK tax contribution in 2024, up from £50.7m in the previous year. Mr Seaborn said: 'It undermines businesses like ours, who are investing in the area, in community, in charity, in the public realm – it undermines our ability to do so.' Under the existing leasehold system, marriage value – the term for the rise in a property's value after a leasehold of below 80 years is extended – is split 50-50 between leaseholder and freeholder. However, this is poised to be replaced by a system that awards the full value increase to the tenant. The effect will be to make it cheaper for leaseholders to buy the lease from freeholders, or make it more attractive to sell on. The new rules will also make it easier for leaseholders of a multi-dwelling property to club together to buy its freehold. Cadogan Estates is among a group of landowners and charities behind a legal challenge against the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act, which is taking forward the changes. The case will be heard in the High Court this July. Mr Seaborn said there was 'an awful lot of the Act that we support, because it needs simplifying', underlining an 'abuse of service charge' in parts of the market that is 'understandably' frustrating leaseholders. However, he said the current bill was 'a bit of a sledgehammer'. He said: 'It's beating the leasehold system rather than focusing on where the issues are. This legislation was in a very early stage of drafting, it was rushed through, and this Government has inherited it. So it's quite challenging.' Mr Seaborn said the estate was engaging with ministers but said the Government had 'made it clear that they're following through on it'. In its latest financial results, the estate said it had 'engaged extensively with ministers and civil servants fruitlessly, so have taken legal steps to protect our interests'. Cadogan Estates has said the reforms will lead to a 'material financial loss' and hamper its ability to invest in the area. The value of its residential properties slipped by 1.2pc to £1.44bn during 2024. None the less, the overall estate booked a 16.6pc yearly rise in operating profit to £140.2m last year, as well as a 1.3pc increase in the value of its overall estate. It invested £211m in property purchases and development, including spending £46m doing up Sloane Street. A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: 'We cannot comment on ongoing litigation. 'We will act to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers and protections over their homes by effectively implementing the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 as quickly as possible.'
Daily Mail
42 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Cops for the chop? Forces may have reduce number of officers as Rachel Reeves rejects Yvette Cooper's pleas for more cash in Spending Review
The Home Office may have to cut the overall number of police officers after Rachel Reeves ignored pleas for more cash for fighting crime. The Chancellor is said to have 'imposed' a funding settlement on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper yesterday ahead of Wednesday's Spending Review, after reaching an impasse in negotiations. It came after she demanded more money for police forces, who have themselves warned that they will be hindered unless more money is forthcoming. However Ms Reeves be believed to be planning to prioritise the NHS, education, nuclear energy and boosting defence when she unveil the multi-year financial plans tomorrow. She today signed off £14.2billion for the Sizewell C nuclear power plant – more than 40 years after it was proposed - with the plant eventually powering 6million homes. A source told the Guardian that cuts to overall police numbers remain 'a possibility'. Earlier this month, in a letter to the Prime Minister, Sir Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan Police, warned that cuts to police budgets will have 'far-reaching consequences'. But a Whitehall source told the Times: 'Rachel imposed the settlement on Yvette in the end. Yvette pushed very hard but was told that there simply isn't the money for it.' The Chancellor is due to lay out departmental allocations running up to 2029 - the likely timetable for the next general election - on Wednesday. But the generous fiscal envelope set at the Budget last Autumn has been put under massive pressure by the economic slowdown, calls for more defence cash, and Labour revolts on benefits. Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The spending review is settled, we will be focused on investing in Britain's renewal so that all working people are better off. 'The first job of the Government was to stabilise the British economy and the public finances, and now we move into a new chapter to deliver the promise and change.' On Sunday Technology Secretary Peter Kyle declined to rule out the prospect of a real-terms squeeze on areas such as policing. He used a round of interviews today to say that 'every part of our society is struggling' and police were competing with various other sectors who have Chancellor Rachel Reeves for more money. Sizewell C was first proposed in 1982 and, after years of paralysis, was given the green light by the Tories in 2022. Ms Reeves will also confirm a £2.5billion investment in nuclear fusion research, while government sources said ministers would press ahead with proposals for 'mini' nuclear plants around the country. The Treasury said the funding would help create 10,000 new jobs. The last time Britain completed a new nuclear plant was in 1987, which was Sizewell B. Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, is under construction but not expected to open until 2031.
