The Lawyer Podcast

In this episode Cat Griffiths and Matt Byrne discuss the latest US financials season, and whether law firms are actually listening to their clients on one of the biggest issues in the world today.

This episode of the Wellness Podcast is a recording of a panel discussion that took place at The Lawyer's in-house counsel as business partner summit, featuring both general counsel and private practice lawyers who have battled their own mental health issues.

Junior associate Eloise Skinner and The Lawyer's features editor Richard Simmons discuss mindfulness.

Eloise Skinner, Sally Davies, Andrew Wells and Katie Power discuss the importance of having a sense of purpose as a lawyer.

In the first episode of The Lawyer's Wellness Podcast, we talk about the role of mental health first-aiders within law firms.

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 mergerA&O Shearman: 40 partners made up ahead of mergerA&O Shearman: New leaders announced A&O Shearman will be a European kingmaker

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?

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.

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.

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.

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 nowhereThe 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.

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/ 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.