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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 as Catrin and Christian are joined by the team leading The Lawyer’s new “global elite” coverage, Matt Byrne and Nikhil Raj Aggarwal, to assess the numbers, drivers and rumours behind the latest transatlantic tie-up.
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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 forgotten.
Listen to our February episode on Europe here.
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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 remember to like and subscribe on your favourite podcast platform.
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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 UK law firms and how a partnership evolution is changing the way law firms operate.
Come back in a fortnight for part two, when we reveal our picks for the five law firms to watch - for good or for ill. -
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 Moloney and Horizon editor Katy Dowell to discuss the aftermath of mega mergers.
Drawing on the notable transatlantic mergers of Hogan Lovells, BCLP and Eversheds, the team discuss partner losses and the importance of the first six months of a newly consolidated operation. What mergers should A&O Shearman model? And is this culling a sign of weakness or strength?
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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 also getting in on the action. Over at the Bar, Fountain Court has started its own sports law team.
With the hearing of the Premier League’s 115 charges against Manchester City expected this month, The Lawyer Podcast takes a look at why football law has gone mainstream, who the new entrants doing the best work are, and what the future might hold for lawyers and football.
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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 (UK) Richard Simmons, senior reporter Lucie Cruz and reporter Charlotte Lear to debate how much a practice area actually matters, and what to do if you don’t get what you want.
Like many of you, The Lawyer Podcast will be taking a summer break for the month of August. Regular service will resume on 5th September.
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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 areas.
For more, check out The Lawyer's coverage here:
https://www.thelawyer.com/election-2024-live/
https://www.thelawyer.com/dogs-and-their-lawyers-at-polling-stations-in-pictures/
https://www.thelawyer.com/keir-starmer-25-years-of-coverage-in-the-lawyer/
https://www.thelawyer.com/general-election-poll-results-lawyers-turn-to-labour/ -
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 Freeths and Shoosmiths.
What have they done, how have they done it, and what are the numbers to back it up?
All is revealed on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast. Plus, find out what Mishcon de Reya, Baker McKenzie, Tottenham Hotspur and Jason Beer KC all have in common. Listen now.
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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 senior or managing partner positions in the past few years.
So on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, using research conducted by The Lawyer, Catrin and Christian chat with Horizon editor Katy Dowell and director of insight Matt Byrne about whether the tide is turning for women in leadership. -
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 examine the law firm’s role in fostering social bonds, the impact of post-COVID society and remote working, dating apps, MeToo and much, much more.
Check out these stories below to read more:
All work and no play: how law kills your love lifeLinklaters responds to #MeToo concerns with whistleblowing hotlineLove at first swipe: the legal issues around dating apps -
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 firm of the year up for grabs, The Lawyer editor Catrin Griffiths and litigation editor Christian Smith are joined by senior reporter and boutiques-guru Annabel Tinson to discuss why so many lawyers are gagging to quit Big Law in the name of niche practice. And, more interestingly perhaps, why now?
For more on litigation boutiques, check out the stories below:
The Lawyer Awards 2024: Shortlist revealedPogust Goodhead: “We’ll make NQs millionaires”Seven chambers and 10 firms: Lawyers prepare for bumper $13.8bn Russia dispute -
The wait is finally over. In just under a week, the transformational merger between Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling will go live.
Shearman trainees to miss out on extra £20k after A&O mergerA&O Shearman: 40 partners made up ahead of mergerA&O Shearman: New leaders announced A&O Shearman will be a European kingmaker
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 facing the new A&O Shearman – and its worst mistake.
If you want to read more, check out the stories below: -
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?
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Regional offices have long been critical to some of the UK’s biggest law firms.
The essential components of today’s DLA Piper came from across the country, legacy Eversheds was formed of four firms from outside London, and Pinsent Masons was a Birmingham and Leeds outfit before it opened in London.
But in recent years, some of those firms’ regional offerings have started to look like the offices they are housed in: old, crumbling, unloved.
So on this episode of The Lawyer Podcast, we take a look at what Big Law is doing in England and Wales outside London, and why upstart regional firms are stealing their lunch.
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Grabbing the attention of aspiring solicitors and spectators alike, criticism of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination has torn through the media over the weeks following the most recent set of results.
From City firms dropping training contracts from offer holders after failing on their first attempt, to questions over whether the exams really equip candidates for life as a newly-qualified solicitor.
This week, The Lawyer asks – what the hell is going on? Catrin and Christian are joined by deputy editor Rich Simmons and reporters Lucy Floydd and Charlotte Lear to discuss the trials and tribulations of this new exam.
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Law firms leaders love saying they don’t want growth for growth’s sake, but the truth is, without any growth at all they soon find themselves floundering.
So as the financial year draws to a close, litigation editor Christian Smith and deputy editor Rich Simmons are joined by head of insight Matt Byrne, Horizon editor Katy Dowell and international editor Alex Taylor to look at what law firms are doing to find good, profitable growth - and whether they need to grow at all costs.
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The new episode of The Lawyer Podcast is out now.
Last week The Lawyer reported that claimant firm Pogust Goodhead could pay its newly qualified associates up to £2m (if it wins its cases), making them by far and away the highest paid in the country.
Yet although Pogust Goodhead is offering more money than anyone else, the move is also a sign of what is an exciting and diverse market.
So on this episode of the podcast, The Lawyer editor Catrin Griffiths and litigation editor Christian Smith are joined by senior litigation reporter Annabel Tinson, deputy editor (UK) Richard Simmons, and reporter Charlotte Lear, to look into Pogust Goodhead’s plan, what associates want out of their careers, what clients they want to act for, and why it’s never been a better time to be a litigation associate.
Click here to sign up to our associate-themed Partnerless email.
If you want to read more, check out the stories below:
Pogust Goodhead: “We’ll make NQs millionaires”Pogust Goodhead to spend millions luring climate quitters from City firm -
London has become the biggest referral market in the world - and the Brits are nowhere
The rise and rise of American firms in London’s private equity market – and the challenge that has presented to UK firms - has been well documented, particularly here at The Lawyer. But their increasing dominance is now also threatening UK firms across Europe, as European relationships in London start migrating to US firms.
On this episode of The Lawyer Podcast, international editor Alex Taylor and director of insight Matt Byrne join Catrin and Christian to explore the changing dynamics of London’s lucrative relationship with Europe, and what UK firms are doing to get their own back in the US.
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Linklaters seemingly started the year strongly with a six partner hire from Shearman & Sterling in New York.
So why then has it come in for so much negative attention?
From an absent US strategy to a stream of senior partner losses, many in the market now believe Linklaters is losing its sparkle.
On this episode, Catrin and Christian are joined by director of insight Matt Byrne and deputy editor (City) Rachel Moloney to discuss what’s going wrong at the magic circle firm, is it justified, or is this a whole fuss over nothing?
If you’d like to read any of the articles mentioned in this podcast, you can find their links below:
https://www.thelawyer.com/six-strong-shearman-team-exits-for-linklaters/
https://www.thelawyer.com/linklaters-should-be-embarrassed-about-its-us-performance/
https://www.thelawyer.com/linklaters-threatens-to-withhold-distributions-from-departing-partners/
https://www.thelawyer.com/paul-weiss-hits-linklaters-for-yet-another-partner/
https://www.thelawyer.com/the-magic-circle-has-had-enough/
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