The Independent Schools Council (ISC) has hired Blackstone duo Lord Pannick KC and Paul Luckhurst, instructed by Kingsley Napley, to challenge the UK Government’s decision to levy VAT on independent school fees. The ISC is an umbrella body for seven associations representing independent schools, their heads, bursars and governors. Through its member associations, it represents […]
German firm Ypog has opened an office in Munich, with a hire from Hengeler Mueller. Carolin Raspé has joined the commercial firm for its latest office venture. She specialises in tax and corporate crime matters, as well as compliance and investigations. Raspé spent 11 years at Hengeler Mueller in Berlin, most recently as a counsel, […]
A senior tax partner from Travers Smith is set to join Latham & Watkins’ practice after 18 years at the UK firm. Simon Skinner, who had been at Travers since 2006 and is a former head of the firm’s tax practice, joins the US firm’s London office with a background in corporate finance, PE and […]
HSBC has prevailed in the £240m claim against it, which alleged deceit, conspiracy and joint tort-feasance against the banking giant. The case was listed as one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2024 and saw HSBC instruct Norton Rose Fulbright to defend two jointly managed actions being pursued by Edwin Coe and Stewarts on behalf of […]
The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has had its appeal for tax relief dismissed following a hearing against HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in March. The appeal concerned the complex structure that BlackRock, represented by Simmons & Simmons’ partner Heather Rowlands, had used to buy Barclays Global Investors (GBI) for $13.5bn in 2009. In the […]
A wave of cash calls could be triggered following guidance from HM Revenue & Customs on the tax status of fixed-share partners. Managing partners told The Lawyer that the new Salaried Members Rules Guidance, published just days before the Spring Budget, would cause “headaches” and “confusion” for firms already contending with basis period reforms. One […]
Pinsent Masons’ head of its London office is leaving after four years to join DLA Piper’s London corporate crime and investigations (CCI) team. Before joining Pinsents at the beginning of 2020, Sackey spent almost 13 years at HMRC in senior positions including deputy director of offshore, corporate, and wealthy investigations, and deputy director of criminal […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s former global head of tax was sentenced to three and a half years in prison by a Frankfurt court on Tuesday. Ulf Johannemann, who had been a partner in the magic circle firm’s Frankfurt office, was found to have assisted the German arm of the Canadian Maple Bank in fraudulent trading over […]
A woman appearing before the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) Tax Chamber sought to rely on case law fabricated by AI, a judge has ruled. In what may be a first for the UK, the appellant, who represented herself and was appealing a £3,000 penalty issued by HMRC, was found to have unknowingly referenced nine FTT cases […]
A tax partner from Macfarlanes is moving over to Kirkland & Ellis, less than two weeks after the US firm made another hire into its team. Ceinwen Rees joins Kirkland after nearly six years at Macfarlanes, where she made partner on return to the firm in 2018. Rees worked as a solicitor at Macfarlanes in […]
Kirkland & Ellis has hired a tax partner after two departures from the practice to Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. James Morgan is set to join the firm in London from Linklaters. He works with banks, debt funds and alternative credit funds on a range of taxation issues. One of his core clients is […]
A Supreme Court decision means a bumper claim brought by the Danish Tax Authority (SKAT) can proceed to trial. At the heart of Skatteforvaltningen v Solo Capital Partners is an alleged £1.5bn fraud, which Skat says was committed by a group of defendants for tax refunds to which they were never entitled. In this latest […]