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Freshfields created a storm last week when leaked emails revealed it was considering spinning off its AI venture potentially “worth billions”.

According to the Financial Times, managing partner Alan Mason thinks that Freshfields Lab could get external investment, or even IPO.

So on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, the team ask how such plans might work, what’s behind them, and why – as this year’s The Lawyer UK200 reports – they are part of a wider trend of law firms siphoning off non-law businesses.

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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 Sky Sports News, as he tells us what it’s been like at the heart of the action, and how a mainstream broadcaster reacts to a legal story like this.

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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 Sullivan & Cromwell.

So on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, the teams asks: as Weil wobbles, will this be the end of the exits, or do the problems run deeper?

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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 new phase when Gibson Dunn shocked law firms by hiring a team of six partners from the previously unshakeable Wachtell.

Private equity investment in law firms took a twist, with PE-backed Lawfront sued the partners from one of the firms it owns – is it a sign of things to come?

And The Lawyer did a deep dive into listed firm Gateley, in an attempt to understand why it is struggling.

Tune in to the new podcast, as the team discuss these stories and what they mean for the market.

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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 of capitalism is becoming more ruthless than ever.

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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 story - and our tech reporter Clementine Doyle, to ask just how big of a deal this is, what it means for the market, and what it might mean for lawyers' day to day.

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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.

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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 generation of female leaders are coming to the fore in many law firms.

So, on the latest episode of the podcast, we discuss why there is still such an issue at A&O Shearman, and across the law more generally, but also which firms and leaders are making a change.

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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 latest funding round in March.

On its books are firms like A&O Shearman, CMS, Ashurst and, as of last week, Slaughter and May.

But despite their rapid rises, is there a risk that the two companies’ dominance is peaking?

Some lawyers are becoming concerned at the size of these legal AI vendors, while Freshfields recently turned its nose up at both of them, instead choosing to partner with AI giant Anthropic. It wants more freedom to tinker with the AI model itself.

So on this episode of the podcast, we ask what the future is for the two legal tech firms as bigger competitors enter the market, why lawyers like them – and why they don’t – and what’s with the bonkers valuations?

Check out The Lawyer’s brand new Innovation Map, exploring how law firms are using AI as the technology moves from experimentation to routine practice. 

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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, and is there really a future for the firm there as it shifts its focus to America?