Funder nets £150m

Litigation funder Augusta has raised £150m from a single investor to add to its litigation war chest, which it said will help fund bigger claims. The cash is understood to have come from a blue-chip investor.

Attorney general change

Torridge and West Devon MP Geoffrey Cox QC replaced Jeremy Wright QC as attorney general in the ‘Brexit reshuffle’. Wright, the government’s chief legal adviser for nearly four years, was appointed secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport.

PEP up at Macfarlanes  

Macfarlanes continued the trend of bullish results in the City by posting record profit per equity partner of £1.7m, a rise of over 25% on last year. Operating profit rose a quarter to £107m on income up 20% to £201.5m.

Gateley acquisition

Listed law firm Gateley has acquired London-based Kiddy & Partners, business psychologists and headhunters, in a deal worth up to £3m. Kiddy will continue to trade under its own name with all staff relocating to Gateley’s London office.

Digital land register

HM Land Registry last week launched its new digital Local Land Charges Register. Warwick District Council’s data was the first to be made available. The creation of the register follows the launch of the first digital mortgage in April.

Legal aid challenge

The High Court will tomorrow begin hearing a challenge brought by the Law Society over the government’s criminal legal aid reforms. The MoJ reduced the cap on the number of claimable pages of prosecution evidence as part of reforms of its litigators’ graduated fee scheme, which remunerates solicitors for Crown court work.

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