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 podca
Send us Fan Mail The Manchester City judgment is an enormous moment for both law and football. 114/115 charges were proven against the club in a case with ramifications far beyond sport. So on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, we discuss the parts of the decision that may be of interest to lawyers, and its consequences, which might keep lawyers busy for years to come. And we are also joined by special guest Amar Mehta, a former litigation reporter at The Lawyer and now a news editor at S...
Send us Fan Mail Losing big teams of senior lawyers has been something of a trend in 2026. New York firm Weil Gotshal & Manges is the latest to suffer a series of top tier exits. Mike Aiello, a member of the firm’s management committee and chair of its corporate group, is leaving with a team of partners for Cravath Swaine & Moore in New York. A few days later, in London, Weil’s City co-head David Avery-Gee and fellow corporate partner Sarah Flaherty were confirmed to be joining Sulliv...
Send us Fan Mail The Lawyer Podcast is back from the summer break on its new Monday publication date. 2026 was a summer to remember, and not just because of Britain's heatwaves. Legal news was far from dry in July and August, so for its first episode back, The Lawyer Podcast brings you what you missed over the summer. Football law news accounted for no fewer than eight different stories over the summer, emphasising sport’s growing importance to the legal sector. The New York market entered a ...
Send us Fan Mail New York’s legal market is changing. For those long established firms, pressure is coming from multiple directions. The city is now home to more than just the traditional New York headquartered firms or even the likes of Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins — global giants that are now considered Manhattan incumbents. So as The Lawyer prepares to launch an office in New York later this year, we discuss the future of the legal market in the Big Apple, and why the home...
Send us Fan Mail Just as the world of law was getting carried away with the excitement of AI, legal tech firm Legora has brought us all thudding back down to earth. Legora has told its clients that it plans to move to consumption based pricing - a decision that could fundamentally change how law firms use AI, right as its role is being normalised. So on this episode of the podcast, we return again to the question of legal AI as we are joined by our tech editor Ben Lucas - who broke the Legora...
Send us Fan Mail It is an uncertain time for those wanting a career in the law. Doom-mongers would have you think that AI is about to lead to a mass cull in junior lawyer roles around the world. But at the same time, associate salaries keep going up – and some big firms are even increasing their junior hiring. So what is the truth behind the future of junior talent? The Lawyer Podcast tries to find out.
Send us Fan Mail In 2015, The Lawyer wrote: “eight candidates for two top roles at Allen & Overy, and not one woman. For a law firm committed to that 30 per cent target, it’s not a good look.” Fast-forward to 2026 and, as The Lawyer wrote last week, just one female partner included on A&O Shearman’s refreshed board of six has left many “disappointed” with the outcome. This is not a problem unique to A&O, with female representation low at a number of big firms. And yet, a gene...
Send us Fan Mail We’ve all been seeing a lot more of Jude Law lately. Legal AI firm Legora’s effort to cement itself in our consciousness with expensive ads featuring the actor has certainly been refreshing In its latest funding round in March, the company hit a valuation of $5.5bn and now has contracts with law firms including White & Case, HSF Kramer, Dentons, and Pérez-Llorca. Meanwhile, its competitor Harvey has grown its own valuation from $3bn early last year to $11bn in its l...
Send us Fan Mail Ever since its big German mergers in 2000, the firm has been one of the major international players in Europe and is now the second largest law firm in Germany. And yet… Freshfields has lost some top talent in the country recently, at the same time as making no bones about its intention to prioritise its US practice. As many firms will be aware, the gap between American and German fees – and compensation – can create problems. So what is going on with Freshfields and Germany,...
Send us Fan Mail The Lawyer Podcast is on holiday this week, but with Taylor Wessing and Winston and Strawn aiming to complete their merger in three weeks’ time, we thought you might like to listen back to our episode from last year when news of the deal broke. The 1st May target date for the merger to go live is not locked in – the two firms are still dotting I’s and crossing T’s. If it goes ahead then though, it will be the first of the three transatlantic tie-ups agreed late last year to c...
Send us Fan Mail In hindsight, Kirkland & Ellis’s rise to the top of BigLaw may now seem as predictable as death and taxes. There was even a sense of inevitability when its latest financial results were released earlier this month, becoming the first firm to surpass $10bn with PEP at $11m. But it was actually less than a decade ago, in 2017, when the firm first topped the global revenue charts. So how did Kirkland get here, what makes it so successful, and is its place at the top of the t...
Send us Fan Mail Private equity investment in law firms is kicking off in England. But in Scotland, lawyers are at risk of falling behind as regulations restrict Scottish firms from doing the same – and that’s left lawyers there frustrated. So on this episode of the podcast, the team is joined from Glasgow by Horizon editor Margaret Taylor and deputy editor (UK) Richard Simmons, as we unpack the challenges facing private equity investment in Scotland, dive into the dramatic changes in Scottis...
Send us Fan Mail The Silver Circle was a concept coined by The Lawyer more than 20 years ago. Rather than describing a set of “magic circle wannabes”, its purpose was to collate the firms’ strategies and models. Those in the Silver Circle have arguably changed over the years, with the likes of Macfarlanes and Travers Smith remaining constant. But after two decades and enormous changes in the legal market, does the term still hold true, and who is actually in the Silver Circle now? Tune in to ...
Send us Fan Mail Brad Karp became a household name - for Big Law at least - during his 17 year tenure at the helm of Paul Weiss. But the long serving chair of the New York firm resigned from his leadership role last week over revelations in the latest batch of the Epstein files. His exit makes him one of the first Americans to resign over the revelations. So on this episode of The Lawyer Podcast, we take a look at why he quit, and what next for Paul Weiss under new chair, Scott Barshay.
Send us Fan Mail The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos usually revolves around talk of business, finance and investment. Indeed, law firms Baker McKenzie and DLA Piper are official partners of the forum. But last week’s meeting was dominated by the unusual topic of Greenland: President Trump’s threat to take the island by force, the Danish government’s rebuff and the seeming fracturing of the NATO alliance. While the issue may seem like a matter of geopolitics not immediatel...
Send us Fan Mail The Lawyer Podcast is back for 2026 and it is picking up where we left off: with transatlantic mergers. Just before Christmas, Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader announced what will be, by value, the largest law firm merger ever agreed. The headline figures look good, but all may not be as it seems… So on the first podcast of the year, we assess what we really make of the tie-up and ask, is time running out for other firms to find a merger partner?
Send us Fan Mail As if 2025 needed just another little dollop of big legal news, Taylor Wessing and Winston & Strawn are set to become the fourth major transatlantic merger in two and a half years. So The Lawyer Podcast is back for an unexpected bonus episode as they talk through the announcement. The second transatlantic tie-up in a month, the team discusses what the firms are up to, what it means for Germany and the rest of Europe, and whether it is actually a good idea, or a bold mista...
Send us Fan Mail As 2025 draws to a close, it feels like 2025 has been an inflection point for the legal sector. While firm financials largely look good, fundamental changes are underway on both sides of the Atlantic. Technology, investment, mergers and even politics all shook the business of law this year. So for the final episode of The Lawyer Podcast in 2025, we take a look back at what has changed for the sector this year, and what it means for 2026.
Send us Fan Mail Unlike A&O’s tie up with Shearman and Sterling, Ashurst’s announcement that it had agreed a merger did not come as a surprise. The firm had been in the market for a US-merger for more than two decades, yet its new partner, Perkins Coie, did still come as a bit of a surprise. The silver circle firm clearly needed to make its move, but was it the right one? Tune in to the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast as hosts Catrin Griffiths and Christian Smith are joined by Matt Byrn...
Send us Fan Mail 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 ...
Send us Fan Mail 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 a...
Send us Fan Mail 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?...
Send us Fan Mail 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 se...
Send us Fan Mail 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 t...
Send us Fan Mail 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 a...
Send us Fan Mail There is a radical reconfiguration taking place in the world of BigLaw that may make terms like magic circle or white shoe firm obsolete. The transatlantic, private capital corridor between New York and London is now the stamping ground for some of the world’s best and most profitable law firms - firms that The Lawyer are now calling the Global Elite. The Lawyer’s brand new The Global Elite report sets out those firms making the grade as part of the transatlantic univers...
Send us Fan Mail As the government launches a sweeping review into parental leave, The Lawyer Podcast takes a look at the challenges faced by parents and other carers working in the legal sector. Are firms pulling their weight? Are men? How far have we come and what more can be done? SHOW NOTES The Lawyer's Working Parents Report can be read here.
Send us Fan Mail 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 th...
Send us Fan Mail 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? Tu...
Send us Fan Mail 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...
About 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 podca
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