The Lawyer Podcast

<p>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.<br /><br />For more news, analysis and data, go to www.thelawyer.com. The Lawyer Podcast can be contacted at podcast@thelawyer.com.</p>

US firms in London - who's up and who's down?

Send us a text 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.

03-02
17:15

The Wellness Podcast: Mental health in private practice and in-house

Send us a text 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.

11-20
38:16

The Wellness Podcast: Mindfulness

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

10-24
22:04

The Wellness Podcast: Finding a Sense Of Purpose

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

09-05
22:53

The Wellness Podcast: Mental health first-aiders

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

04-05
15:55

UK 200 special: The most interesting firms in the top 100

Send us a text 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 sexi...

10-02
26:20

Calling all gardeners - your firm needs you!

Send us a text 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 ...

09-18
26:14

Why it was a hot debunching summer - and what else you missed on your holidays

Send us a text 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...

09-04
27:10

Are the New York elite finished?

Send us a text 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 universe....

07-31
33:38

The runny poop problem is law's next battleground

Send us a text 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.

07-10
29:29

Freshfields, Lewis Silkin and the C-word

Send us a text 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 that...

06-26
37:06

Paul Weiss’s growth is just the tip of the iceberg

Send us a text 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? Tune...

06-12
33:26

Have litigation funders been chasing a busted flush?

Send us a text 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 o...

05-29
27:05

What law firms aren’t telling you about AI

Send us a text 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 d...

05-15
31:19

Trump v BigLaw, part three: Where's your line in the sand?

Send us a text 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 a...

05-02
54:50

Trump v BigLaw, part two: Deal or no deal?

Send us a text 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 l...

04-29
50:33

Trump v BigLaw, part one: Crisis

Send us a text 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 wil...

04-24
01:06:07

Your firm may not be interested in private equity, but private equity is interested in your firm

Send us a text 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.

04-10
27:21

Could you hack it as a startup GC?

Send us a text 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.

03-27
26:30

Does Linklaters’ exit spell the end for the Magic Circle in Eastern Europe?

Send us a text 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 whil...

03-13
22:00

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