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The Lawyer’s editor Catrin Griffiths and director of insight Matt Byrne are back from a fact-finding mission in New York, and merger mania is gripping the city’s lawyers.

As firms seek scale, reach and private capital clients, some of the oldest firms in the Big Apple are pondering how a tie up could help their bottom line.

And while private equity investment into firms is all the rage in the UK, in the US it is starting to gain traction as well.

So in the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, Catrin and Matt recount what they learned on their adventure across New York last week…

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Tax rises for partnerships may be on the way in next month’s Budget – and potentially big ones at that.

Many lawyers were left shocked after the news broke last week that the Government is considering adding the equivalent of employer’s national insurance onto partnerships.

So on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, we ask what that might mean for a range of firms, whether it is a good idea (or just good politics), what firms might do about it, and what friend of the show and former Clifford Chance head of tax Dan Neidle thinks…

You can read The Lawyer’s piece on the idea from 2022 here:

https://www.thelawyer.com/the-treasury-could-tax-commercial-law-firms-an-extra-1bn-and-theyd-barely-notice/

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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 an “unfair” result, with class actions yet to bring any substantial returns, and with the result of the Civil Justice Council’s review into litigation funding not far away, litigation funders might be having an existential crisis.

So on this episode of The Lawyer Podcast, Catrin and Christian are joined by deputy litigation editor Annabel Tinson to explore whether funders are chasing a busted flush, and if the class action regime is proving a bit of a dud.

To listen to February’s episode about the Merricks v Mastercard case, click here.

To read The Lawyer’s recent coverage of the Merricks v Mastercard case, click here and here.

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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 decipher all the tricky messaging to map out how law firms are responding to what is the biggest technological change to the profession since the internet.

So on this episode of the podcast, Catrin and Christian are joined by tech editor Lucie Cruz and director of insight Matt Byrne to discuss firms’ differing responses, what they should be doing, and whether everyone is replaceable.

If you want to read The Lawyer’s Innovation Map for the full analysis on what firms are up to, click here.

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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 associate community, as well as Georgetown student Caleb Frye, who gives the lowdown of the state of play on campus.

And they discuss what comes next and whether the saga has changed BigLaw forever…

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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 A&O Shearman and Paul Weiss were right to enter into deals with the administration, how other firms were ready to poach their lawyers, what it says about the state of the profession, and the response of UK firms in the US.

In our final episode later this week, The Lawyer Podcast explores the response of junior and future lawyers.

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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 take a look at what is behind the moves, and why so many people have a problem with them.

The Lawyer Podcast team speak to former UK Supreme Court Justice Lord Sumption, Harvard law professor Jody Freeman, senior legal fellow at the Trump-sympathetic Heritage Foundation GianCarlo Canaparo, and Professor John Greil, a clinical professor of law in the Law and Religion Clinic at the University of Texas.

In our second episode, released early next week, we will dive into the view from partners and clients, before finishing the series by looking towards the next generation of lawyers, and what long-term effects the crisis might have.

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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.

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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.

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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 Linklaters wants out, and what could that signal for the rest of the magic circle?

Check out the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast with Catrin, Christian, Alex and Michal to find out.

You can read more about the Central and Eastern European legal market in The Lawyer’s new Central and Eastern Europe: Opportunities and challenges for growth report here.

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£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 right and it’s just a scheme to enrich the lawyers and litigation funders? And who will make the Netflix series?

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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 deserves credit for what it is doing on the environment.

The Sustainability hub is here to help you discover how your law firm is reducing its impact, benchmark one firm’s progress against its peers, uncover what more is needed to drive meaningful change across the industry, and much more.

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Private equity investment in law firms has accelerated in the past 12 months. Essentially every UK200 law firm in the country has been approached, and many have already accepted the opportunity. Now the question is whether firms at the top of the market might join in.

But is it actually a good idea? Can law firms offer the rapid turnaround that private equity demands? Or is it just a chance for equity partners to cash in and retire, leaving behind them a mess for their firms?

The Lawyer Podcast investigates.

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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, Christian Smith, Matt Byrne and Rachel Moloney as they discuss Latham’s place in the emerging global elite market.

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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 Tinson to discuss the lessons from this year’s top cases.

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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 susceptible to it. 

Joining hosts Catrin Griffiths and Christian Smith to highlight the growing awareness around workaholism in the legal profession are James Browning, an academic researcher into addiction, and psychotherapist counsellor Paul Arnold.

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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.

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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.

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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 Lawyer's UK200: Top 100 report, sponsored by Legora, is out and it contains 100 stories of firms forging ahead or falling behind. But which are the most interesting of all?

In this week's episode of The Lawyer Podcast we dive into the sea of data and analysis that is the UK200 report and come up clutching four firms that are particularly worthy of attention this year. Who are they? Why should you care about them? And who does director of insight Matt Byrne think is the sexiest firm in the top 100? You'll have to listen to find out.

And subscribers can read the full top 100 report right here:

https://www.thelawyer.com/mda/report/uk-200-top-100-2025/

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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/

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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.

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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 life
• Linklaters responds to #MeToo concerns with whistleblowing hotline
• Love at first swipe: the legal issues around dating apps

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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 revealed
• Pogust Goodhead: “We’ll make NQs millionaires”
• Seven chambers and 10 firms: Lawyers prepare for bumper $13.8bn Russia dispute

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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 facing the new A&O Shearman – and its worst mistake.

If you want to read more, check out the stories below:

• Shearman trainees to miss out on extra £20k after A&O merger
• A&O Shearman: 40 partners made up ahead of merger
• A&O Shearman: New leaders announced 
• A&O Shearman will be a European kingmaker

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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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Gardening has transformed from an old-fashioned past-time to a popular trend in the past few years, and now, even law firms are getting in on the action.

Firms like Eversheds, Switalskis and CANDEY are leading the charge, but there is so much more that could be done. After all, who wants to look at a grey bit of concrete all day.

So as the Autumn weather sets in and as we all try to distract ourselves from the news, The Lawyer Podcast asks what difference gardens would make to law firms, which firms have the best gardens, and whether your firm needs to make more of an effort than a pot plant and a strip of manky grass.

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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

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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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The Lawyer Podcast is back for 2024 and we’re kicking things off by delving into the lessons the legal profession can glean from the Post Office scandal.

The Post Office scandal has already become one of the biggest stories of the year and few groups are so closely tied to it as the legal profession.

With that in mind, editor Catrin Griffiths and litigation editor Christian Smith are joined by senior litigation reporter Annabel Tinson to ask: Are lawyers the baddies in this national scandal? Where is the line between acting in your client’s best interests and acting unethically? Should hyper-aggressive litigation be a thing of the past? And how has litigation funding managed to get caught up in it all?

Plus, we have special guest appearances from the University of Exeter’s professor of law and professional ethics Richard Moorhead, and Harbour Litigation Funding’s founder Susan Dunn.

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Every law firm and his dog seems to be moving into a green office at the moment, but how important is that really when it comes to a law firm's impact on the environment?

Well with COP28 well underway in Dubai, for the last episode of The Lawyer Podcast for 2023, we dive into one of the great challenges for this generation of lawyers: how can firms manage their relationship with the environment?

Catrin and Christian are joined by The Lawyer's sustainability guru Jessica Boak, along with deputy editor (UK) Rich Simmons, to discuss how firms impact the environment, what they are doing about it, what the next generation of lawyers want from their employers, and the thorny issue of acting for big polluter clients.

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The new episode of The Lawyer Podcast is out now!

Across the UK and Europe, new types of litigation are booming – and the money is pumping in.

On this episode of The Lawyer Podcast, Catrin Griffiths, Christian Smith and Alex Taylor sit down to debate what the future holds for the once maligned practice area, and whether litigators are proving themselves more creative than their transactional colleagues.

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Salary wars are so 2022. Or are they?

On Tuesday this week, The Lawyer’s deputy editor (UK) Rich Simmons revealed the largest firm pay gaps between London and the regions.

Did you know that Hogan Lovells’ Birmingham newly qualifieds (NQs) are paid £45,000 less than their London colleagues? And Eversheds Sutherland’s regional NQs are all paid £33,000 less than those in the City? 

A London-regional pay gap has always existed, but lawyers are starting to question whether it has ever been so big, and if it is still fair.

Suffice to say, the question led to a particularly robust debate in The Lawyer’s newsroom, so on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, the London-based Catrin and Christian are joined by Rich Simmons from Brighton, deputy news editor Jessica Boak from Leeds, and Horizon editor, Devonshire’s own, Katy Dowell to sort out the divide once and for all.

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The Lawyer’s Horizon Live is due to kick off next month. We are launching a series of webinars, dinners and roundtables featuring some of the biggest names in law discussing the most prominent issues affecting the profession.

To celebrate, on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, four of The Lawyer’s editors present some of their favourite Horizons in recent times.

The Lawyer editor Catrin Griffiths presents Horizon editor Katy Dowell’s piece Just let more women in the equity, Rich Simmons brings us his Horizon Oxford is the New Cambridge, deputy news editor Jessica Boak argues that firms need to be bolder in their net zero plans in Don’t backtrack like Sunak, and international editor Alex Taylor argues why Freshfields is still a staunch Europhile.

You can subscribe to Horizon Live here.

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Profits are falling and costs are rising. On the latest episode of The Lawyer Podcast, the team chat about why profit isn't a dirty word:

• Love it or hate it, PEP is part of a firm's branding and the status of its lawyers;
• Profit matters for firms' long-term health and investment;
• Would-be partners should use PEP in tandem with intel on capital requirements to know what they're letting themselves in for;
• Freshfields is deluded if it thinks it can ignore PEP as a metric.

For all this and more, the annual UK200 on the UK Signal Channel, sponsored by Thomson Reuters, is out now. Read it here. 

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The kids are back in school, the clouds are rolling in, and offices across the land are filling up with lawyers returning from their holidays.

And just in time, The Lawyer Podcast is back after the summer break. But just like in Westminster, it was far from a quiet summer for the legal sector.

So on our first episode back, we bring you the stories you missed while you were on your holidays.

From Addleshaw Goddard’s salary debunching and bumps in the road for Pogust Goodhead and the mass claims market, to financial results and private equity’s obsession with law, this is what you need to know from the summer.

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Proposed redundancies at CMS and Taylor Rose have raised associate anxieties across the market, with many wondering whether they could be the start of wider trouble.

Hosts Catrin Griffiths and Christian Smith are joined by director of insight Matt Byrne and deputy editor (UK) Rich Simmons to discuss what you need to know, and whether you should be worried.

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Why is everyone talking about Paul Weiss and Neel Sachdev?

The Lawyer Podcast is BACK after the summer break and for the first episode of the new term, the team take on the hottest story of the summer: Paul Weiss and its big London play.

Join hosts Catrin Griffiths, Christian Smith and guests Matt Byrne and Rachel Moloney as they unlock the Chamber of Secrets to reveal what you need to know, why you need to know it, and what it all means for the likes of Kirkland, Slaughters, Macfarlanes and the rest.

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Like many of its listeners, The Lawyer Podcast is on its summer holidays.

But hanging over the summer for partners at A&O and Shearman & Sterling is the question of whether they should vote through the two firms’ proposed merger.

With the vote expected in the Autumn, whether the biggest firm tie-up in decades will actually go through is still a live debate.

So if you’re looking for something to listen to while you sip your next piña colada and look out to sea, check out this episode on the merger from our archives, recorded less than 24 hours after it was first announced.

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The last episode of The Lawyer Podcast before the summer break is out now!

Join hosts Catrin and Christian as they speak with Horizon editor Katy Dowell about why so many firms are moving or upgrading offices, and why they don’t all agree on what the future office should look like.

What do treasure chests, Robert the Bruce, Adam Smith, seduction and sedition have in common? Anderson Strathern, as it turns out. The Lawyer Podcast chats to managing partner Murray McCall about how the firm discovered its, and half of Scotland’s, history.

And we are live from The Lawyer’s In-House Financial Services conference where we are joined by two GCs to talk about getting to grips with the financial services sector, what to expect from life as a GC, and AI (obviously). 

The Lawyer Podcast will be taking a summer break over July and August but will return in the Autumn.