UK judges 'will reject LLP law'
Jersey limited liability partnerships, being promoted by two of the Big Six as an answer to curbing the litigation risks faced by partnerships, will be seen as a ‘sham’ by English judges should the law be tested in the courts, according to a leading lawyer.
John Dilger, immediate past president of the Law Society’s Revenue Law Committee and a partner at law firm Macfarlanes, claimed that if a Jersey registered partnership and its individual partners were sued for negligence while they still carried on their business in the mainland, an English judge would not listen to the argument that they are a Jersey LLP.
‘I think an English judge would say the whole thing is a sham, and you did it to avoid your creditors,’ said Dilger, ‘unless you wrote to each of your clients individually and said we are not liable, which would put them all off. It won’t wash.’
A UK-based version of LLP would allow partnerships to carry on as before and probably would work, he said.
Small firms are training fewer chartered accountants which could cause succession problems in the future, according to Mark Spofforth, chairman of the GPB. ‘For the first time this year, Coopers & Lybrand took on more students than all the firms with less than 10 partners,’ he said. General practitioners increasingly favour accountants studying certifieds exams.
Student chartereds absent for long periods on block release are less cost-effective for small firms.
In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...
View resourceIn recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...
View resourceIn a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...
View resourceThe first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...
View resourceGlobal spend on accountancy outsourcing up by 40% in the space of five years. News comes as accountancy outsourcing specialist AdvanceTrack reports en...
View articleFollowing a profitability review, Deloitte has decided to scale back its UK deals business due to lower returns. This strategic shift could lead to jo...
View articleUK-based Dow Schofield Watts (DSW), a mid-market professional services network, announced the creation of a new division called DSW Principal Partners...
View articleEY has been undergoing significant cost-cutting measures and streamlining its operations since the abandonment of Project Everest. The firm has made t...
View articleTransitioning from an accounting firm to a consultancy model is only one part of the puzzle. The next, equally vital piece is making the market aware ...
View articleThis framework, while providing a top-line view, underscores the importance of strategic vision, operational excellence, and the spirit of continuous ...
View articleLooking ahead, the Big 4 firms face a challenging year, with ongoing cost-of-living concerns, slow economic growth, rising geopolitical tensions, and ...
View articleLast month it was reported that Deloitte would be cutting approximately 1,200 jobs in the United States, making it the latest of the Big Four accounti...
View article