Latest news with #Linklaters
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Magic circle executive banned for sexual misconduct at karaoke bar
A former employee at one of London's most prestigious law firms has been banned from working in the legal profession after touching a junior colleague's bottom in a karaoke bar. Vivek Ramsaroop has been punished after the solicitors' watchdog found that he grabbed a fellow worker's waist and started 'rubbing himself' against her while on a work night. At the time, he was an employee at the magic circle firm Linklaters. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has ruled that the incident, which took place in November 2022, amounted to 'serious sexual misconduct' and banned him from working for other law firms in Britain. As part of its findings, the SRA said Mr Ramsaroop harassed a junior colleague, referred to only as 'Employee A', at a social event organised for Linklaters' London office. The SRA said: 'Whilst at the karaoke bar, Mr Ramsaroop approached Employee A and stood closely to her talking and said the words 'you're gorgeous' and 'you're amazing'.' He then put his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her face for several seconds, the regulator said. 'Shortly afterwards, Mr Ramsaroop started dancing directly behind Employee A, grabbed her waist with both hands and touched her bottom,' the SRA added. Mr Ramaswoop then 'started rubbing himself against' his colleague on the dancefloor 'with his pelvis pressed against Employee A's bottom,' the watchdog said. During his time at Linklaters, Mr Ramaswoop – whose last known address was in Johannesburg – was involved in Linklaters' legal practice but not employed as a solicitor. He specialises in mergers and acquisitions. The SRA said Mr Ramaswoop's conduct constituted 'serious sexual misconduct' as it involved repeated physical contact directed towards a junior colleague. As a result, the regulator issued a so-called 'Section 43' notice against Mr Ramaswoop, which restricts firms from employing individuals deemed to have committed misconduct, even if they are not working as lawyers. Mr Ramaswoop was also ordered to pay a portion of the SRA's £1,350 legal bill. The regulator says it expects law firms to take a 'zero tolerance' approach to sexual misconduct, which covers any abuse of a person's 'professional position to initiate or pursue an improper sexual or emotional relationship'. Linklaters is one of Britain's four 'magic circle' law firms. Last year, it paid its partners an average £1.9m, while its newly-qualified lawyers received starting salaries of £150,000. A Linklaters spokesman said: 'This relates to an incident involving a former employee who had joined the firm a few weeks prior. We had reported the matter to the SRA and the individual left the firm with immediate effect.'
Sky News
5 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Chinese group Jingye hires lawyers to recover British Steel cash
The Chinese owner of British Steel has hired a leading City law firm to explore the recovery of hundreds of millions of pounds it invested in the Scunthorpe-based company before the government seized control of its operations in April. Sky News has learnt that Jingye Group has appointed Linklaters - which advised it on its purchase of British Steel in 2020 - to evaluate legal options for recouping part of its outlay. It was unclear on Tuesday which potential routes Jingye was exploring with Linklaters, or whether a formal legal challenge to the government was under consideration. British Steel's balance sheet bears debts worth close to £1bn, most of which is said to be owed to Jingye in the form of inter-company loans. The Financial Times reported last month that ministers were exploring the controversial use of new legislation to wipe out those debts in order to smooth a path to the sale of the business. The government and Jingye had been at loggerheads for weeks over the future of the Scunthorpe plant's blast furnaces. Since Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, moved to commandeer control of the UK's second-biggest steel producer, the government has sourced additional supplies of raw materials to ensure the furnaces' continued operations. Jingye had been preparing to close them - with the loss of thousands of jobs - after seeking £1bn in state aid to facilitate the site's transition to greener steelmaking. Mr Reynolds has indicated that Jingye's shares in British Steel - which has not yet been formally nationalised - are worthless, and that the government does not intend to offer to pay to acquire them. A Jingye spokesperson said: "Jingye can confirm that Linklaters has been appointed; they were the original advisers on the acquisition in 2020." A spokesman for the Department for Business and Trade said: "We acted quickly to ensure the continued operations of the blast furnaces but recognise that securing British Steel's long-term future requires private sector investment. "We are working closely with Jingye and a range of third parties on options for the future, and we will continue work on determining the best long-term sustainable future for the site."
Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Patrick McCann: ‘Getting to the top is difficult for LGBTQIA people'
'Queer' lawyers are underrepresented in the leadership of City law firms and Patrick McCann wants to change that when he takes over the reins of the capital's law society. 'In the City legal sector there is a paucity of out LGBTQIA [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and asexual] senior people,' says McCann, who has been named as the next chief executive of the City of London Law Society. The 57-year-old left Linklaters this year, where he was director of learning at the 'magic circle' firm — he will now come out of retirement to take his new post from September. 'I can only remember three out queer managing partners of City law firms in the 40 years that I've been in and around law,'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Thames Water paid lawyers £1,400 an hour despite threat of collapse
Thames Water has paid its lawyers up to £1,400 an hour despite teetering on the brink of collapse, The Telegraph can reveal. As part of the latest court hearing over its £3bn rescue plan, the troubled water giant spent more than £2m on court fees alone. This includes up to £1,400 an hour for the most senior solicitors at magic circle firm, Linklaters, while it also handed its barrister almost half a million pounds in fees. The fees in question were for a three-day Court of Appeal hearing in March, which upheld a restructuring package Thames secured to stave off the threat of nationalisation. It comes after Thames revealed in February it was spending £15m a month on lawyers and its advisers, warning that the eventual restructuring bill could exceed £200m. The huge sum comes despite Britain's largest water company teetering on the brink of collapse. Thames Water's chairman Sir Adrian Montague told MPs last week the company had 'in the last year has come very close to running out of money entirely.' Thames hired Linklaters to block a legal challenge to its £3bn bailout package, which helped avoid being temporarily nationalised. Environmental campaigners and a group of Thames's junior creditors had sought to block the package in the Court of Appeals, over concerns about the high interest rates on which the emergency loan was offered. The Court of Appeals subsequently approved the package, which provides Thames Water with enough funding to keep it afloat until May 2026. Since then, the water company has come under mounting scrutiny over its bonus payouts to its top executives. Chief executive Chris Weston was paid a £195,000 bonus as part of his £2.3m pay package in 2024. Sir Adrian appeared in front of a parliamentary select committee last week where he was forced to justify the company's decision to pay out six figure bonuses. He argued that Thames needed to 'reward its staff effectively' to ensure they would not be poached by rival businesses. Sir Adrian told the select committee that: 'This business, like many businesses, needs to reward its staff effectively.' Thames Water's multi-million pound legal bills come as the fees charged by top City lawyers have surged in recent years, with some high-flying solicitors now charging more than £1,700 an hour, according research by LexisNexis. Linklaters itself generated £2.1bn in revenue in the financial year ending in April 2024, according to its most recent financial results, which saw it report a 10.3pc increase in its pre-tax profits to £942m. The law firm's partners took home £1.9m each on average, while newly-qualified solicitors at the London firm were paid salaries of £150,000. Thames Water declined to comment. Linklaters was approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Telegraph
18-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Thames Water paid lawyers £1,400 an hour despite threat of collapse
Thames Water has paid its lawyers up to £1,400 an hour despite teetering on the brink of collapse, The Telegraph can reveal. As part of the latest court hearing over its £3bn rescue plan, the troubled water giant spent more than £2m on court fees alone. This includes up to £1,400 an hour for the most senior solicitors at magic circle firm, Linklaters, while it also handed its barrister almost half a million pounds in fees. The fees in question were for a three-day Court of Appeal hearing in March, which upheld a restructuring package Thames secured to stave off the threat of nationalisation. It comes after Thames revealed in February it was spending £15m a month on lawyers and its advisers, warning that the eventual restructuring bill could exceed £200m. The huge sum comes despite Britain's largest water company teetering on the brink of collapse. Thames Water's chairman Sir Adrian Montague told MPs last week the company had 'in the last year has come very close to running out of money entirely.' Thames hired Linklaters to block a legal challenge to its £3bn bailout package, which helped avoid being temporarily nationalised. Environmental campaigners and a group of Thames's junior creditors had sought to block the package in the Court of Appeals, over concerns about the high interest rates on which the emergency loan was offered. The Court of Appeals subsequently approved the package, which provides Thames Water with enough funding to keep it afloat until May 2026. Since then, the water company has come under mounting scrutiny over its bonus payouts to its top executives. Chief executive Chris Weston was paid a £195,000 bonus as part of his £2.3m pay package in 2024. Sir Adrian appeared in front of a parliamentary select committee last week where he was forced to justify the company's decision to pay out six figure bonuses. He argued that Thames needed to 'reward its staff effectively' to ensure they would not be poached by rival businesses. Sir Adrian told the select committee that: 'This business, like many businesses, needs to reward its staff effectively.' Thames Water's multi-million pound legal bills come as the fees charged by top City lawyers have surged in recent years, with some high-flying solicitors now charging more than £1,700 an hour, according research by LexisNexis. Linklaters itself generated £2.1bn in revenue in the financial year ending in April 2024, according to its most recent financial results, which saw it report a 10.3pc increase in its pre-tax profits to £942m. The law firm's partners took home £1.9m each on average, while newly-qualified solicitors at the London firm were paid salaries of £150,000.
