Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast

It's a new dawn, it's a new day! This week, Byfield Account Manager Jessica Hancock and Account Executive Thomas Ziprin joined Meg to discuss the Bar Council of India's decision to open up the doors of the legal industry to foreign lawyers and law firms, licenses for law firms in Saudi Arabia and their ethical and cultural implications, free therapy at work, lawyers not receiving their pay boost last year and more on the use of AI in law. Next week, The Times Legal Editor Jonathan Ames will join us so make sure to tune in!

This week, Meg is joined by Law.com International News Editor Rose Walker. They discuss challenges faced by women in law including career progression and women's health issues to mark International Women's Day, as well as how men can become better allies at work. They then dive into the future of Shearman & Sterling amid a management shake-up following the end of merger talks with Hogan Lovells, and discuss why the Cravath, Swaine & Moore's move into the City is so important in terms of media relations in the UK.

Ben Girdlestone joins Meg to discuss this week's news that white shoe firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore is officially establishing a London office, as well as Matt Hancock's half hour, M&A activity slowly making a comeback, robot lawyers and clients asking firms for discounts, fixed fee deals and postponements of payments as companies face increasing financial pressures.Make sure to tune in next week as we'll have a special guest to discuss International Women's Day, and this morning's news that the Hogan Lovells-Shearman & Sterling merger is off.

This week Meg is joined by guest Corinne Staves, Partner at Employment, Partnership and Regulatory specialists CM Murray LLP. For the hot topics this week, we look at the latest research into the productivity of law-from-home, discuss class actions breaking the £1bn mark, and debate whether the four day week could really work for law firms. We also examine the latest attempts of the SRA to turn the screw on conduct - and the reveal that the Home Office's 'is monitoring' lawyers. Is Robert Jenrick watching you?

 This week, to mark the arrival of car-sized extra-terrestrials,  Host Droid M-3G0 Meg is joined by Captains Michael "Skywalker" Evans and Ben "Kenobi" Girdlestone of the U.S.S Byfield for a voyage to a legal market far, far, away. In their continuing mission, to discover whether Utah really is centre of the legal universe, and to boldly fund litigation where no one has litigated before. We talk about the Big Four's growth (at warp speed?), separatist partners,  and whether A&O has found AI-bot it is looking for. We also look at the SRA's new fining powers, expanding faster than the universe itself.  

For your weekly digest of the top business of law stories, Meg is joined by special guest Elaine Banton, Barrister at 7BR, and Co-Chair of the Bar Council's Equality, Diversity and Social Mobility Committee. We talk about barristers' wellbeing, the barriers to career progression for female lawyers, and recent cases of overt racism in the industry. To mark National Apprenticeship Week, we also ask whether alternative routes will improve access to the profession. Finally, we also speak about the use of AI to cut down the court backlogs.

This week, Meg is joined once again by Ben Girdlestone, Managing Director at Byfield, for another weekly roundup of news from the London legal market. We talk about law firm flotations, the latest fighting talk from the SRA, and whether law firms will finally call time on billable hours. As the ChatGPT discourse rumbles on, Ben channels his inner John Connors to contemplate the Robo-Flak. We also ask, are British lawyers just a little too Hugh Grant?

This week, Meg is joined by Ben Girdlestone, Managing Director at Byfield, for your regular roundup of the top stories from the London legal market. We talk about the gamble of team hires, AML compliance, press access to the family courts, and the latest outing from Seely, Neidle and SLAPPS (not the 70s supergroup - the other one). Ben also tells us why he has ditched the Chelsea boots for a pair of Scarlet Doc Martins. 

This week, Meg is joined by Byfield Managing Director Michael Evans to discuss rising PII costs for law firms, LDI lawsuits, and recent PEP findings from Legal Cheek’s Most List 2023. We also talk about the merits of using AI chatbots at Law School, in light of the recent ChatGPT drama in the US – but then, who needs robots if your office has an apiary? 

This week, Meg is joined by The Law Society Gazette Deputy News Editor John Hyde to discuss the effects of the recession on Big Law, including a downturn in M&A activity and potential City redundancies. We also cover the latest criticism of the Bar Standards Board by the Legal Services Board, pathways to equity partnership, anti-strike and retained EU laws Bills currently being discussed in Parliament.

To kick off the New Year, we are once again joined once again by Simon Slater, former CEO and non-executive board member of Cripps LLP, as well as Board Adviser at Byfield, with his forecasts for 2023. We predict the hot topics for the year ahead, including why firms might have to call curtains on NQ pay rises, the dawn of data as a key management challenge, and why we should be cautiously optimistic about the legal market's fortunes in 2023. We also ask if, with mounting public and regulatory pressure, if this will be a crunch year for ESG commitments - with firm's expected to practice what they preach. 

This week Meg is joined by special guest Luke Tucker Harrison, co-founder of insolvency and disputes specialists Keidan Harrison LLP, for your weekly digest and analysis of the top stories from the London legal market. We discuss rising cases of barrister misconduct, rising billing rates, social mobility in law firms, and Raab’s move against SLAPPs. Also, we can consider the death of the “all-nighter” – reports of which may (or may not) be greatly exaggerated. 

This week, we take a hiatus from our usual weekly digests to look back at 2022 with Simon Slater, former CEO and non-executive board member of Cripps LLP, as well as Non-Executive Chair of Byfield Consultancy. We talk about how law firms adapted to the War in Ukraine, the ever-changeable fortunes of the Magic Circle, the rise and rise again of class actions, and dare to ask the question – the War for Talent, is this the beginning of the end?

Meg Tillay is joined by Michael Evans and podcast first-timer Gus Sellitto to look at the top takeaways from the IBA Conference in Miami. Crockett and Tubbs talk us through the reputational impact of investigations, whether bad clients deserve good lawyers, and what it is really like to stay in a midsize town full of lawyers.

They'll always hit you and hurt you, defend and attack! Ahead of the World Cup, Ben Girdlestone and Meg Tillay declare their footballing allegiances, and spend just a bit of time discussing this week’s top stories in the UK legal Market. We talk about deal activity, SRA fining powers and getting lawyers in the office. We also look at this week’s Budget and discover that, just like hips, markets don’t lie.

For Pro Bono Week we are joined by Fred Banning, formerly of Pinsent Masons and the Founder of Fifth Day, a non-profit organisation founded to provide access to pro bono opportunities business professionals within law firms. We discuss the Fifth Day initiative, as well as Law.com’s annual pro bono survey. We also ask how law firms will respond to the M&A downturn and the SRA SLAPP down. 

Former legal Journalist, Meg Tillay, is joined by Ben Girdlestone for your weekly digest of the top business of law stories from the London legal market. This week we talk about the travails of Magic Circle firms in the US, menopause policies and life for associates on the fast track. We also discover that for some law firms, size isn’t everything. 

For Halloween, Meg Tillay is joined by Ben Girdlestone in this bonus episode to talk about what really spooks managing partners of big law firms - including the war for talent, client fees, and cyber-vampires.

Former legal Journalist, Meg Tillay, is joined by Michael Evans for your daily digest of the top business of law stories from the London legal market. This week we are Houston to Manchester to discuss Magic Circle mergers, partnership tracks and the property downfall. We discover that firm partners don’t like cricket, they love it.

This week, former legal journalist Meg Tillay is joined by Michael Evans to discuss the stories everyone is talking about in the London legal market. This week's episode features Hogan Lovells, Shoosmiths and Liz Truss versus the lettuce.