Send us a text Lewis Silkin and Freshfields are two very different law firms. But they now have one thing in common – they won one of the two big awards at The Lawyer Awards 2025 last week. Now, The Lawyer Podcast is not typically a podcast to gush and coo. But with Lewis Silkin taking home UK firm of the year this year, and Freshfields winning Transatlantic firm of the year, on this episode, the team wanted to ask what these two firms are getting right. And the answer is something that The Lawy...
Jun 26, 2025•37 min
Send us a text We have never seen such rapid investment in the London legal market like Paul Weiss’s recruitment spree since 2023. Between 2023 and 2024 alone, the firm's London headcount tripled and its estimated turnover grew by more than 550 per cent. But that was just the start of the story for US firms in London over the last financial year, as private capital doubled down on the London market. So is it all rosy for American firms in London? Or could there be trouble on the horizon? Tune in...
Jun 12, 2025•33 min
Send us a text On the surface, litigation funding and class actions are booming in the UK. Over the past five years, dozens of class actions have been filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) and just at the start of this month, a new £5bn action was filed against Google. The 60 cases now in the CAT are said to be worth more than £160bn. And they are all backed by a litigation funder. But with the judgment in Merricks v Mastercard this month seeing funder Innsworth lash out at the CAT over...
May 29, 2025•27 min
Send us a text News broke last week that the first ever AI law firm had been given the green light by the SRA. The rush by law firms to adopt Artificial Intelligence has been the standout feature of the past two years. But amongst all the hype, the promises, the bizarre naming of internal chat bots (we’re looking at you, Mishcon de Reya), it’s difficult to get a handle on who is doing what – and if your firm is going to be left behind. Here at The Lawyer though, we have been working hard to deci...
May 15, 2025•31 min
Send us a text Trump’s attacks on some of America’s most famous law firms has set in motion a chain of events that has thrown the world of BigLaw into chaos. In episode three of The Lawyer Podcast's mini-series on Trump v BigLaw, Christian, Catrin and Richard assess what the crisis means for the junior members of the legal profession. The team speaks with Rachel Cohen, whose resignation on a point of principle from Skadden and subsequent advocacy has made her something of a leader among the asso...
May 02, 2025•55 min
Send us a text Trump’s attacks on some of America’s most famous law firms has set in motion a chain of events that has thrown the world of BigLaw into chaos. On this second episode of our podcast mini-series, Catrin, Christian and Richard look at how firm managements are responding to Trump’s targeting. The team speaks to former Ashurst senior partner Charlie Geffen and former Weight Watchers and Kenneth Cole General Counsel Michael Colosi for their views. They also debate whether law firms like...
Apr 29, 2025•51 min
Send us a text Trump’s attacks on some of America’s most famous law firms has set in motion a chain of events that has thrown the world of BigLaw into chaos. Across the course of three episodes, The Lawyer Podcast will be talking to figures across the political and legal spectrum on both sides of the Atlantic, from Trump supporters to liberal academics, senior partners to students, associates to judges, to understand the crisis facing BigLaw… and what comes next. In this first episode, we will t...
Apr 24, 2025•1 hr 6 min
Send us a text Law firm listings are out of fashion, but private equity interest in firms has never been higher. With more deals already struck this year, The Lawyer Podcast crew sets out the state of PE investment in firms, debates the benefits and challenges of PE involvement, explores the experience of DWF, and ponders what the future will bring. 67cf803c0ecd65984faca29daf342d94206f717e
Apr 10, 2025•27 min
Send us a text Dynamic. Modern. Exciting. From Revolut to Bloom & Wild, Darktrace to Fever, startups are increasingly the place to be in the UK - and that is the case for lawyers too. So as the potential avenues for a career in law grow and grow, Catrin Griffiths and Christian Smith are joined on The Lawyer Podcast by Tech Editor Lucie Cruz – and some special guests – to discuss what it takes to be a lawyer at a startup. 67cf803c0ecd65984faca29daf342d94206f717e...
Mar 27, 2025•27 min
Send us a text Poland’s GDP per capita could surpass Japan’s next year and may exceed the UK’s by the end of the decade. Such statistics help explain why the Eastern European nation is seeing an influx of international business - and legal work. Addleshaw Goddard is to take over Linklaters’ office in Warsaw in April, Clyde & Co is keenly poaching from Dentons, while Wolf Theiss and Schoenherr are also on the hunt for talent. So what is driving this change, why does Addleshaws want in while L...
Mar 13, 2025•22 min
Send us a text £20m is a number most recently associated with top private equity partners, but that’s the amount a team from Willkie Farr & Gallagher has been paid for its work on the iconic Merricks v Mastercard litigation. Now as the case wraps up, Catrin and Christian are joined by deputy litigation editor Annabel Tinson to discuss the story behind the case and its controversial settlement, and ask: what will its legacy be? Is the class action regime working fairly, or are the critics rig...
Feb 27, 2025•30 min
Send us a text As Donald Trump and his allies put corporate ESG on both sides of the Atlantic in their crosshairs, is now the time for law firms to stand up and prove that their sustainability programmes are not just all for lip service? To mark the launch of The Lawyer ’s Sustainability Hub , the podcast team discuss the future of law firm sustainability, which firms need to up their game, why the Slaughters’ partner dining room is progressive, and why Linklaters (or “ Stinklaters ”) actually d...
Feb 13, 2025•33 min
Send us a text Losing more than a dozen partners in a year isn’t good for any firm, but it’s particularly bad if you are a top of the market type practice like Latham & Watkins. But after such a stumble in London and across Europe last year, which saw the firm recalibrate its partner remuneration and bonus structure to hold on to top talent, the time has come to ask: should Lathamites be worried, or is a little turbulence all part of life for a global elite firm? Join Catrin Griffiths, Chris...
Jan 30, 2025•32 min
Send us a text The Lawyer Podcast is back with for 2025! Every January for the past 15 years, The Lawyer has published its Top 20 Cases to look out for in the coming year. Each year’s list boasts of the skill and depth of the legal market, and the high drama of the English courts. So what makes this year different, and what can it tell us about the current state of law, business and politics? Well to kick off the New Year, Catrin and Christian are joined by senior litigation reporter Annabel Tin...
Jan 16, 2025•25 min
Send us a text It's less than a week until Christmas and across the country, fires are blazing, trees are twinkling and pigs in blankets are roasting. But in offices, lawyers still have their noses to the grindstone. For those who celebrate it, the Christmas break can be a time to put your feet up and relax. But many still need to work over the festive season, and many still find it difficult to stop. So for our final podcast of the year, The Lawyer looks at workaholism and why lawyers so suscep...
Dec 19, 2024•31 min
Send us a text Editors Catrin Griffiths, Christian Smith and Richard Simmons are back to reveal the five firms in the second hundred of the UK200 they are watching in the coming years – for good or for ill. Tune in as we discuss firms from around the country: RBG, Lawrence Stephens, Enyo Law, FBC Manby Bowdler and Simpson Millar. And please remember to like and subscribe on your favourite podcast platform. 67cf803c0ecd65984faca29daf342d94206f717e...
Dec 05, 2024•33 min
Send us a text The announcement that Herbert Smith Freehills would merge with US firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel has got chins wagging across the transatlantic market. But is this a new mega-firm in the vein of A&O Shearman, a shrewd building block for HSF to make advances in the US, or a bit of an anti-climax? What is clear is that HSF will need to prove to markets on both sides of the Atlantic why the Kramer Levin deal makes sense. Tune in to the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast ...
Nov 14, 2024•31 min
Send us a text It is a moment of change for the European legal market. With firms like Kirkland and Paul Hastings making major recent moves in the EU, US firms are starting to seriously disrupt the European order. This is most visible in Germany, France and the Nordics. So on this episode of the The Lawyer Podcast, our international editor Alex Taylor joins us after a recent visit to Oslo to discuss how US firms are impacting their local rivals, and what UK firms need to do to avoid being forgot...
Oct 31, 2024•25 min
Send us a text In part two of our two-part podcast series, celebrating the 20th edition of The Lawyer's UK200, editors Catrin Griffiths, Christian Smith, Matt Byrne, Katy Dowell and Richard Simmons are back to reveal the five firms they are watching in the coming years – for good or for ill. With a list of 200 law firms, it’s not difficult to find some which pique our interest…but why have they? Tune in as we discuss Freshfields, Hill Dickinson, BDB Pitmans, Osborne Clarke and BCLP. And please r...
Oct 17, 2024•30 min
Send us a text If this year's UK200 is anything to go by, the majority of UK law firms are in robust health. Indeed, they are finally fighting back against the growth of US competitors. So why are so many upending their partnership models? In part one of our two part podcast series celebrating the 20th edition of The Lawyer's UK200, editors Catrin Griffiths, Christian Smith, Matt Byrne, Katy Dowell and Richard Simmons sit down to discuss what this year's UK200 report tells us about the health of...
Oct 03, 2024•28 min
Send us a text Last week, A&O Shearman set out post-merger plans to close its legacy Allen & Overy base in Johannesburg, reduce its partnership by 10 per cent by the end of the financial year, and sell its consultancy business Consulting by A&O Shearman. So is this a sign of things already going wrong, or is this all par for the course for big mergers? In this new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, hosts Catrin Griffiths and Christian Smith are joined by deputy editor (City) Rachel Molon...
Sep 19, 2024•31 min
Send us a text Football law has typically been the domain of sports specialists. However, in recent years, there has been a growing number of large, elite firms and chambers entering the football market. Clifford Chance and Freshfields act for Manchester City, and Slaughter and May and Linklaters represent the Premier League. Latham and Watkins worked on the Chelsea sale, sports boutiques like Northridge and Onside Law are going gangbusters, and Silver Circle firms Ashurst and Macfarlanes are al...
Sep 05, 2024•35 min
Send us a text The associate recruitment market has tightened up over the past year or two. For trainees looking to qualify, that means finding a home in their preferred practice area is more difficult too. But qualification and, specifically, which team you qualify into, can be one of the most crucial moments in a solicitor’s career. So on the final episode of The Lawyer Podcast before the summer and with editor Catrin Griffiths away, litigation editor Christian Smith is joined by deputy editor...
Jul 18, 2024•27 min
Send us a text Labour won. Now what? As Sir Keir Starmer walks into Downing Street, The Lawyer Podcast boils up a vat of coffee and brings you an election results show for lawyers. With special guests including former Clifford Chance partner and tax celebrity Dan Neidle, we discuss which lawyers are in and out of Parliament after a night of change, look at what will be on the desk of the new Justice Secretary, and run through what a Labour victory means for lawyers working in different practice ...
Jul 05, 2024•29 min
Send us a text The doom of the middle market has long been foretold. As global mergers grab attention and smaller, boutique firms blossom, many question whether there is any role for mid-market practices in law’s future. But, on Tuesday evening, Addleshaw Goddard marked a remarkable, decade-long turnaround as it was crowned Law Firm of the Year at The Lawyer Awards. And Addleshaws is not the only mid-market firm to have proven its credentials, with commended and highly commended being awarded to...
Jun 20, 2024•32 min
Send us a text Law firms have long had a problem with gender equality. Partners and senior leaders are weighted heavily towards men, with an average of 2.35 male partner to every female partner in the UK's top 100 firms. However, that number is actually much improved on five years ago, when it was 2.83 male partners to every female. The number of female senior and managing partners is also increasing, with the likes of Freshfields, Linklaters and Slaughter and May having appointed women to senio...
Jun 06, 2024•27 min
Send us a text O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Last week, The Lawyer reported that time-poor lawyers are struggling to date in a profession where time is money. Longer hours for junior lawyers, compounded by a waning London dating market, is only adding to the problem. So on this episode of The Lawyer Podcast, editor Catrin Griffiths and litigation editor Christian Smith are joined by reporters Lucy Floydd and Charlotte Lear to discuss what new trends in lawyering mean for romance. We ...
May 23, 2024•31 min
Send us a text Last week, all eyes were on A&O Shearman, a union hailing Big Law and its future. But in this week’s episode, we consider why so many solicitors are pursuing another future: opening their own firm. A survey from Censuswide on behalf of Harbour Litigation Funding last year found that half of UK firm partners had ambitions to set up their own firm – up 10 per percent on 2021. So as The Lawyer Awards draws nearer, with the prestigious awards litigation boutique and specialist fir...
May 09, 2024•30 min
Send us a text The wait is finally over. In just under a week, the transformational merger between Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling will go live. But while the deal is done, the job is only just beginning. So on this episode of The Lawyer Podcast, Catrin and Christian look at how the merger will play out in the next week, the next year and beyond? They are joined by director of insight Matt Byrne and deputy editor (City) Rachel Moloney as they break down the five big challenges faci...
Apr 25, 2024•30 min
Send us a text The Lawyer 's Christian Smith, Catrin Griffiths, Richard Simmons, Katy Dowell and Charlotte Lear are joined by College of Legal Practice CEO Giles Proctor for this emergency episode of The Lawyer Podcast as they discuss the latest Solicitors Qualification Exam debacle : marking errors that led to 175 students being incorrectly told they had failed. What went wrong, who's to blame, and what happens next? 67cf803c0ecd65984faca29daf342d94206f717e...
Apr 16, 2024•32 min
