Morning Briefing: Good news for in-house lawyers – salaries on the rise

In-house lawyers’ salaries rising
Corporate legal departments are paying lawyers more this year than last and increasing the numbers they employ. A report by HBR Consulting shows that in-house lawyers are on average 5 per cent better off after bonuses than they were in 2013. Average base salaries are around AU$220,000 with total compensation packages across all levels at AU$ 370,000 and bonuses averaging AU$78,000. The report also shows an increase in the number of lawyers in 55 per cent of internal legal departments.

Boutique litigation firm to act for 300 Tesco investors
London-based Stewarts Law, a litigation-only boutique, is to launch action on behalf of 300 investors in supermarket firm Tesco over its overstated profits. The Claim will allege that directors and senior management knew or were reckless as to whether Tesco's statements to the market were untrue or misleading and/or dishonestly concealed the true position, in breach of the Financial Services and Markets Act. Stewarts’ partner Sean Upton says that action will be launched within the next 6 months rather than waiting for an official investigation which may take some years.

Regulator pledges its support to smaller law firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has announced new initiatives to support the UK’s smallest law firms. The SRA says that many small firms believe that it does not understand their issues but it wants to address that and acknowledges that small, often one-lawyer, firms are of great value to consumers. Among the plans are easier approvals for compliance officers and dedicated support teams for small firms.

China accuses some western nations of inefficiency and prejudice
China says that some western nations are inefficient in responses to its requests for co-operation and may even have prejudices against China. Xu Hong, the head of China’s foreign office treaty department says that judges are often slow to respond to requests in cases such as stolen assets or fugitives. He believes that sometimes the lack of co-operation is due to anti-Chinese sentiment.