The Lawyer Podcast
Hosted by editor Catrin Griffiths and litigation editor Christian Smith, every second Thursday The Lawyer Podcast brings you our take on the top stories, trends and views moving the legal market.
For more news, analysis and data, go to www.thelawyer.com. The Lawyer Podcast can be contacted at podcast@thelawyer.com.
Episodes
62 episodes
Trump v BigLaw, part one: Crisis
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 episode...
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1:06:07
Your firm may not be interested in private equity, but private equity is interested in your firm
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 a...
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27:21
Could you hack it as a startup GC?
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, Ca...
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26:30
Does Linklaters’ exit spell the end for the Magic Circle in Eastern Europe?
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.A...
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22:00
Absolute scenes: Freshfields, Willkie and how Merricks v Mastercard bankrolled the litigation market
£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...
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29:34
Law firm sustainability in the age of Trump
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 lau...
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32:43
We need to talk about Latham
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 s...
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31:58
When litigation gets big, who you gonna call?
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 yea...
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25:00
Christmas Special: Is someone you know a workaholic?
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, th...
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30:30
Five smaller firms to watch for good or for ill
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 co...
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32:39
The HSF merger: Two firms do not a transatlantic powerhouse make
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 buildi...
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31:00
How Kirkland is shaking up the European order
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, ...
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25:03
UK 200 Special: What we really think of Freshfields, BCLP and Osborne Clarke
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 co...
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30:10
UK 200 Special: UK law firms fight back
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 pa...
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28:26
Is the A&O Shearman honeymoon over?
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 t...
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30:56
Why lawyers now control football
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 Mancheste...
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34:50
Qualification: the end of your career?
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, w...
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26:45
The Election Special
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 ...
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28:31
Addleshaws and the myths of the mid-market
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. ...
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31:45
WANTED: A female leader
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 actuall...
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27:05
Bumble and billables: the woes of dating as a lawyer (and why partners should care)
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 ma...
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31:00
Why you should leave Big Law for a boutique (and why you shouldn't)
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 o...
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30:07
A&O Shearman’s five biggest challenges - and worst mistake
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 ...
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30:00
Emergency Episode: The SQE shambles
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
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32:02
Big Law outside London: crumbling offices, crumbling strategies
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...
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32:43