In a ruthlessly competitive 24-hour rolling news environment our skill is in helping clients assess and deliver their messaging to make a real impact.
Productivity has become a national obsession here in the UK and it’s not hard to see why. Productivity growth is good for businesses, it’s good for workers and it’s good for the economy as a whole but it’s something we’ve seen very little of here in the UK since the Global Financial Crash.
Montfort Communications, the corporate reputation specialist, is delighted to announce the appointment of Sally Todd as a Senior Consultant within its award-winning Asset and Wealth Management practice.
The question for this Chancellor has always been: how to get out of this mess? The Chancellor has blamed everyone but the Conservatives and chosen stealth taxes and cuts. The answer is not as black and white as this Government would have us believe and that spells trouble down the line.
The last 72 hours has seen splits in the party, political wrangling over policy, and U-turns, but for businesses, nothing has changed. This conference was a steadying the ship exercise. The real challenge now is how the Government can hold the rebound in market sentiment, deliver its agenda and reunite the party in under 18-24 months before another General election. Next stop the ‘Medium-term fiscal plan’.
With the Conservative Government’s ‘mini-budget’ setting off market turmoil and dissent within the Tory party, this week’s Labour conference was the most business-like and business-focused iteration since the Blair-Brown years.
With £45bn worth of tax cuts, growth at all costs was the overarching message of Kwasi Kwarteng’s speech announcing the Government’s fiscal measures.
Montfort Communications, the fast-growing corporate reputation firm, has been appointed as strategic communications adviser by LeapFrog Investments.
Montfort Communications, the fast-growing corporate reputation firm, has been appointed by Pantheon International Plc (PIP), the FTSE 250-listed private equity investment trust, as their strategic communications adviser.
The stakes for the British economy are high. The UK is currently set for just 1% growth in 2023, it continues to languish at the bottom of the G7 table of business investment and is also caught in a longer-term trap of low growth. Higher productivity is the only sustainable way to achieve higher standards of living and tackle the fiscal challenges of an aging population and decarbonisation while lowering the UK’s high tax burden.
After Monday’s vote, the Prime Minister soldiers on. It came with the high price of a dented ego and a brand-new policy platform rushed out just before the vote. So, what is this new policy platform and what does it mean for business?
As we see the first test cases of the Government’s New National Security and Investment Act, the lack of clarity around ‘call-ins’ is obvious. What can companies do to avoid being seemingly at the mercy of a new political tool for intervention in transactions and M&A?
21Shares launches BOLD, the world’s first Bitcoin and Gold ETP
Montfort Communications acquires Blackstock Consulting
Montfort receives PRWeek UK ‘Industry Initiative Award’ for 10,000 Black Interns media campaign in 2021
Montfort achieved another year of strong growth in 2021 and with this strong momentum continuing into 2022 we are seeking exceptional Senior Consultants to join our 40-strong team.
Access to Legal Aid is more important than ever, but cuts to funding make it harder and harder for people to receive legal assistance. But, say TV’s Judge Rob Rinder MBE and Jeremy Brier, it’s possibly the most important protection of liberty we have as a civilized society – to give innocent people the right to defend themselves. In this latest episode, listen as Rob and Jeremy discuss the importance of Legal Aid and its critical role in protecting the rule of law.
Don’t miss Clarissa Coleman & David Speakman, partners at DAC Beachcroft, discuss the changing role of investigations lawyers. Clarissa shares her experiences of the dawn raid at the property investment firm owned by Vincent Tchenguiz. David discusses representing Dr Beatt in his whistleblowing case. Together they share their thoughts on the FCA’s suggestion of regulating firms for Diversity & Inclusion, the impact of wider cultural influences on the UK workforce & DAC Beachcroft’s multi-disciplinary investigations department.
Matthew Jervois, Senior Consultant, reflects on his return from COP 26.
Post-Conservative Party Conference and ahead of the Budget, Woolf Thomson Jones digs into three days in Manchester to tell us what the big takeaways are for businesses as the Government continues to navigate challenges on all fronts.
Don’t miss Tracy Alexander, Director of Forensic Services for the City of London police, discussing the current state of forensic science, her work with Inside Justice, and, having worked in forensic science for 29 years, she shares the biggest changes in the industry and how TV has skewed people’s perception of forensic scientists.
Montfort announces that Matthew Jervois has been appointed as a Senior Consultant to work across its Capital Markets, Corporate and Financial Services practices.
Amid governance scandals and intense scrutiny of businesses during the pandemic, UK companies are under more pressure than ever to demonstrate an authentic commitment to good corporate governance and their fitness to operate. In this podcast, we sit down with Maureen Beresford, Head of Corporate Governance at the Financial Reporting Council, for an exclusive interview to understand how companies and leaders can derive greater benefit for their stakeholders through best practice reporting.
Don’t miss Jasper Helder, senior partner at Akin Gump, and one of the most experienced professionals advising on national security, trade policy and export controls issues in the country. Jasper talks to our Senior Consultant Kiran Nagendran about the 2002 Enterprise Act, and the new National Security and Investment Act which will come into force in January 2022.
Karlia Lykourgou is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. She was called to the bar in 2013 and specialises in criminal defence cases. However, in 2020, she founded Ivy & Normanton, the first legal outfitter specialising in legal attire for women, with the aim of portraying real women and a diverse image of what it means to be a woman in law.
Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe is the former Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police. Currently he’s an adviser to the Financial Crime department at city law firm Rosenblatt. What you might not know is that he has made an arrest at every single rank, has ridden a horse at the Grand National, and has ridden a police horse at every London football ground during his term
David Marchant is an investigative journalist, the founder and editor of OffshoreAlert, the leading online portal for news on insolvencies, disputes and other problems in high value cross border finance. He discusses getting kicked out of Bermuda, starting OffshoreAlert, dealing with being sued and death threats, and the moral and ethical boundaries he won’t cross as an investigative journalist.
What made renowned litigation funding pioneer, Susan Dunn, founder of Harbour Litigation Funding, get into the business in the first place? In this Chancery Lane Chat, Susan shares her fascinating journey into litigation funding, the cases she’s most proud of, what Harbour looks for in a claim, and how litigators can access funding from Harbour.
Tracy Dovaston is partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, with over two decades experience in financial services regulatory investigations, and corporate investigations and disputes. What has been Tracey’s experience working in the traditionally male dominated area of investigations? And why is it mainly men who are attracted to it? And finally, what is Tracey’s top tip for women in law? Don’t miss all this and more in this special International Women’s Day episode.
Montfort Communications, the fast-growing corporate reputation firm, has been appointed as strategic communications adviser to the Cibus funds.
Salary: £27k per annum (pro rata)
Location: Central London
Close date: 4th June 2021
RWC Partners is the latest addition to Montfort’s rapidly growing roster of clients. Montfort achieved 50% growth in 2020 and this momentum has continued with a strong start to 2021 for the financial services team and Montfort overall.
Environmental, social and governance (‘ESG’) factors are critical to investment decision making for young investors according to a new research study published today by Montfort Communications’ asset management practice in conjunction with Boring Money, the retail investment blog and website.
Montfort achieved strong growth in 2020 and with this momentum continuing into 2021 we are seeking exceptional Senior Consultants to join our 40-strong team.
The hybrid workplace promises to be more complex than the pre-pandemic model, or indeed the fully-remote workplace. Montfort provides a blueprint to equip managers with the skills, tools and values to encourage successful hybrid working.
Our recent Change/Exchange debate looked at how organisations are preparing for a post pandemic working world. Winners will be those re-thinking the future of work, designing workspace for flexibility and collaboration.
Montfort Communications, the fast-growing corporate reputation firm, has been appointed as strategic communications adviser by River and Mercantile Group PLC, the UK listed investment manager with over £44bn assets under management.
National World, a special purpose acquisitions company founded by David Montgomery and Vijay Vaghela to create a modern platform for news using the latest technology, acquired JPI Publishing Ltd, (“JPI Group”) on 2 January for £10.2 million.
Charlie Holt is a campaign lawyer for Greenpeace International who advises the charity on its legal strategy and the use of strategic communications around environmental litigation.
He discusses the rise of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), why he thinks they harm free-speech and the creation of the anti-SLAPP coalition, Protect the Protest.
Montfort Communications has appointed Phil Askham as a senior consultant in its fast-growing Change & Employee Engagement practice.
Richard Royds, 30-year veteran of the UK and European asset management industry, has joined Montfort Communications, the corporate reputation specialist, as a senior adviser.
This special episode delves into the complex world of whistleblowing with an impressive panel of experts. Constantine Cannon’s whistleblower lawyers, Mary Inman and Henry C Su, alongside investigative journalists, Martin Bright and Katherine Eban, paint a fascinating picture of the US and UK legal and social landscapes within which whistleblowers have to operate. From a recent $48 million whistleblower reward in the US, to possible new whistleblower legislation in the UK, the panel are clear – with reporting under siege, whistleblowers must be protected and valued more than ever before.
In 1982 Sharon Jones graduated with honours from Harvard Law School and, yet, she felt she was met with the assumption of being an incompetent lawyer by virtue of not being a white man. Sharon became a highly successful federal prosecutor, in-house counsel to Fortune 500 Corporations and CEO of diversity consultancy, Jones Diversity. Deconstructing implicit bias, Montfort hears that Black Lawyers Matter and becoming an ally requires pushing for change.
Montfort Communications is proud to provide pro bono support to a range of initiatives that encourage diversity and inclusion including: 100BlackInterns, The 30% Club, The Taylor Bennett Foundation and the Gray’s Inn Mentoring Scheme.
With eyes glued to Netflix and Zoom meetings replacing office space, lockdown has accelerated a ‘digital transformation’ across the world. At the intersection of this new online society is the tech industry, which this week’s guest, Ashley Hurst, International Head of Technology, Media and Comms at Osborne Clarke, says is one of the ‘winning sectors’ of the pandemic. From broadcasting and cyber security to the explosion of internet legislation, Ashley shares technology expertise, advice and predictions.
As a result of Covid-19, the year 2020 will mark historic global change. Alongside geopolitical tensions which some think are reminiscent of the build up to World War 2, we have the added threats of global economic turbulence and climate change.
As the pressures of lockdown preys on our morale, the question is – are there any reasons to be optimistic?
Yes, says Professor Malik R. Dahlan, who thinks there is a growing appreciation of legal ethics, the Golden Rule and their application through the Rule of Law amongst the global legal community.
The recent FinCen Files exposé has once again identified the UK as a possible “weak link” in the global fight against financial crime.
Montfort Communications, the corporate reputation firm, has appointed Anthony Eskander to its fast-growing Litigation & Disputes team. Anthony joins from Church Court Chambers, where he practised as a financial crime barrister.
Montfort Communications, the fast-growing corporate reputation firm, today announces that it has advised on two of the largest investment trust deals of 2020.
When it comes to state endorsed sanctions, Investigative Lawyer and Partner, Matt Getz, tells Montfort Communications that business reputation is at the mercy of geopolitics, complex law and inaccurate reporting. Matt tackles cases on corruption and white-collar crime and represents multinational corporations in their moment of crisis for his internationally revered firm, Boies Schiller Flexner.
In an educational account of financial crime, Matt unveils the differences between the EU and the US model of sanction endorsements, predictions on what the UK’s post-Brexit freedom may entail and how media consultants are ‘invaluable’ when it comes to protecting businesses from uncorroborated press accounts.
In a special collaboration between Montfort Communications and Institution Quraysh (iQ), Professor Malik Dahlan has the privilege of discussing the role the Rule of Law has to play in current world events with one of the greatest jurists of our times, the former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Woolf CH. As a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords with a rich international career, Lord Woolf shares tales of dramatic interactions with Russia’s President Putin, his experience of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Hong Kong and his wisdom on the historic, but temporary, waves of global political tensions.
“There are problems, and there are things to be very worried about, but in general, my feeling remains that looking at the matter globally, across countries, the appreciation of the Rule of Law is continually growing”, Lord Woolf reassures.
Montfort Communications, the fast-growing corporate reputation firm, today announces that it advised The Friedkin Group Inc on its acquisition of AS Roma, the leading Italian football club, for a total consideration of €591m.
The Montfort Communications Litigation & Disputes team are looking to recruit two barristers to help manage reputation and deliver effective communications around litigation around for our growing case load.
On 9 June Montfort hosted its third Change/Exchange since the beginning of the pandemic. These sessions bring together senior change and communications practitioners to share their experiences.
A few years ago, I interviewed Professor Sir Cary Cooper one of the UK’s foremost thinkers on workplace issues. We discussed the UK’s productivity puzzle – why does the UK consistently lag other developed nations on productivity measures? Cary felt that the UK had a ‘management’ problem.
My thoughts have drifted back to that conversation in recent weeks as the Covid-19 crisis has shifted very firmly into planning the return to the workplace.
2019 was an inflection point for investor commitment to ESG and the advent of COVID-19 has seen it propelled to the forefront of investor preoccupations.
When international criminal tribunals deal with accusations of crimes against humanity, media scrutiny is ferocious and reputations fragile. With experience on landmark cases, Steven Kay QC, one of the world’s leading criminal lawyers, reveals that in high profile international criminal cases there are often blurred lines between the law, politics and a ‘narrative’ woven by the media. In a globalised world where lies travel faster than the truth, Montfort hears that multidisciplinary collaboration is the way of the future.
A professional who ‘defies categorization’, Michele DeStefano is a highly ranked ‘Legal Rebel’ who researches and writes about the growing intersections between law, business, and legal innovation. As a professor at the University of Miami School of Law and Affiliated Faculty at Harvard Law School, Michele understands why communications and law are becoming like yin and yang professions in reputation management. Michele predicts that the success of law firms in the future will depend on what she calls ‘proactive co-collaboration’.
Over the last few days there has been significant debate about how the return to work will work in practice, especially in London where most people commute using public transport.
The Financial Services responses from our survey on Getting Britain Back to Work make for some interesting reading.
Montfort Communications has commissioned Opinium to conduct research into how UK workers feel about going back to their place of work in light of Covid-19. The research was conducted on 1-4 May 2020 and included interviews with 4,000 workers from across the UK.
With lawyers underwhelmed by litigation evidence, Nick Bortman co-founded Raedas, a corporate investigations consultancy purely focused on contentious work. Credible evidence for Raedas means evidence that can stand up in court and make a real difference in resolving a dispute.
In this episode recorded during the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown, Montfort Communications hears how this specialist consultancy thrives in a niche where contentious work and high stakes are the name of its game. Plus, Nick’s prediction that COVID-19 will lead to relief fund fraud.
Following Boris Johnson’s speech to the nation on Sunday night we are entering a new phase in the fight against Covid-19. The data now shows we are past the peak of the epidemic here in the UK. The debate has shifted towards the return to work. Montfort has commissioned its own research “Getting Britain Back to Work” (conducted by Opinium) which shows almost half of those not in their usual workplace (45%) are ready to return to work, with only 28% not ready. If social distancing measures are implemented, there is majority support for a range of workplaces to start opening again imminently, including Factories (62%) and Offices (57%).
70% of workers say UK will suffer long-term damage without imminent return to work according to poll
“Lowering the cost of insurance would be accomplished by such things as making it harder for lawyers to win frivolous lawsuits against insurance companies.” So said the American economist Thomas Sowell.
Justifiably or not, I’m sure the board of many insurance companies would share this sentiment. But Sowell probably did not have in mind the kind of backlash insurers are facing during the time of a pandemic, and the sorts of class actions touted in the media across the world against insurers who are refusing business interruption claims brought about as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
What exactly are McMafia laws and what does it have to do with Mrs Hajiyeva spending £16 million in Harrods? Alan Ward, a senior lawyer at Stephenson Harwood specialising in corporate and white-collar crime, uncovers the details of the UK’s controversial anti-money laundering powers in Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) to begin combating £4.4 billion of London’s criminal assets – both its background and its problems including unfairness and resourcing shortages to an accounting nightmare.
At Montfort we strive to anticipate the issues that our clients are facing and to help us we have a longstanding relationship with economic and social forecaster David Murrin. In recent years he has correctly called significant geopolitical moves and political results, notably calling the result of the Brexit referendum before the referendum was even announced, the election of Donald Trump, and the rise of China to challenge the US for global leadership. A year ago, David urged his subscribers to heed the economic threat posed by a global pandemic. And from late 2019, he has accurately forecast the impact of COVID-19 on society and global financial markets – including the exact dates that the markets and the oil price fell.
As the lockdown persists, companies and shareholders are coming to terms with the idea of ‘virtual AGMs.’ Montfort was a pioneer in this field when, in 2016, we managed the first virtual AGM permitted under LSE rules, (for Jimmy Choo). Since then, we have assisted LVMH in staging a series of hugely successful shareholder meetings which have expanded the boundaries of shareholder engagement and general reputational outreach.
In 2014 when film, The Interview, about the assassination of North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un went from being a harmless spoof to the cause of a mass cyber-attack on Sony Pictures, Jonathan Pearl was Sony’s General Counsel in the USA. Bringing together his legal expertise and technological savvy, Montfort hears Jonathan’s crisis management pearls of wisdom on communications, how to mitigate long-term reputational damage and retain public trust when hackers do their worst.
In an age of fake news, ‘black PR campaigns’ and ‘anti-immigration propaganda’, communications expertise is ‘pivotal’ for success, immigration solicitor Elena Tsirlina advises. With immigration being a hot topic in the media, be it accurate reporting or the proliferation of misinformation online, Elena gives communications consultancy Montfort her ‘winning formula’ for cases with ferocious public interest – along with a powerful message for the media to educate on immigration, not misinform.
At a time when the world seems to be going to hell in a hand cart, with stock exchanges plunging and ominous talk of a global depression, many are asking if this is the end of the road for the ESG bandwagon? When companies are rightly focused on survival, should investors abandon their ESG commitments and their related requirements of companies as bull market excess?
No more pie in the sky policies, Sir Keir’s team have the expertise to deliver
From A-listers Naomi Campbell to Sir Cliff Richard, lawyer Gideon Benaim gives Montfort the inside story of what makes communications and legal expertise a ‘fundamental’ partnership in protecting the reputation of his many and varied high-profile clients. As Head of Reputation at law firm, Simkins, Gideon uses reputation law to help companies in a range of sectors and high net worth individuals when crisis strikes. How does he do it? With the ‘best people advising’ from the earliest possible moment.
The Montfort Communications Litigation & Disputes team explore how reputation management plays a crucial part in determining who is the ‘right winner’ or the ‘wronged loser’ in high profile litigation.
Montfort’s Malcolm Munro, a former senior ITN journalist, reviews how business communicators are handling the coronavirus crisis.
Anyone who has been booked to attend an event over the last fortnight, has likely been a witness to the wave of widespread cancellations, brought about by the measures imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Business should not think that the current crisis presents an opportunity to bury bad news. The opposite is the case and organisations will not be able to dodge bullets, nor sugar the pill.
Given unprecedented gyrations in financial markets, a brutal ending to the longest bull run in living memory and unabating volatility and fearfulness, it is crucial for companies to continue to show leadership to their investors.
As social pressure mounts and a highly engaged population campaign for big corporations to make genuine change to the way they operate, we have seen firms all over the world put environmental, social and governance values at the core of their business operations. But is it all a fad?
While the Covid-19 pandemic presents real challenges and dilemmas in all walks of life, Montfort is focusing on short term solutions and long-term intelligence to help our clients plot their way through the crisis.
“It is a myth that you cannot have financial returns as well as social impact.”
Alex Just and Stuart Leach, from Montfort Communications’ Litigations and Disputes team, joined Nicholas Bortman and Jenna Burton of Raedas in a recent webinar.
Coronavirus has put the spotlight on the international community’s capability to manage the contagion, not least in the field of communications.
The fast-growing corporate reputation specialist has made a senior hire in its Change & Employee Engagement area.
Montfort Communications, the fast-growing corporate reputation firm, has been appointed as a strategic communications adviser by BNP Paribas Asset Management.
After the festive break many listed company boards will soon reconvene with some facing the heightened possibility of difficult pre-AGM shareholder discussions…
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me – a Boris bonanza, runway to Brexit and surge in sterling…
Montfort Communications, the fast-growing strategic corporate communications firm, has been appointed as financial public relations and investor relations adviser by National World.
Montfort Communications, the fast-growing strategic corporate communications firm, has been appointed as communications adviser by Systematica Investments Limited (‘Systematica’).
