The Lawyer Podcast

The announcement that Herbert Smith Freehills would merge with US firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel has got chins wagging across the transatlantic market.

But is this a new mega-firm in the vein of A&O Shearman, a shrewd building block for HSF to make advances in the US, or a bit of an anti-climax?

What is clear is that HSF will need to prove to markets on both sides of the Atlantic why the Kramer Levin deal makes sense.

Tune in to the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast as Catrin and Christian are joined by the team leading The Lawyer’s new “global elite” coverage, Matt Byrne and Nikhil Raj Aggarwal, to assess the numbers, drivers and rumours behind the latest transatlantic tie-up.

It is a moment of change for the European legal market.

With firms like Kirkland and Paul Hastings making major recent moves in the EU, US firms are starting to seriously disrupt the European order.

This is most visible in Germany, France and the Nordics.

So on this episode of the The Lawyer Podcast, our international editor Alex Taylor joins us after a recent visit to Oslo to discuss how US firms are impacting their local rivals, and what UK firms need to do to avoid being forgotten.

Listen to our February episode on Europe here.

In part two of our two-part podcast series, celebrating the 20th edition of The Lawyer's UK200, editors Catrin Griffiths, Christian Smith, Matt Byrne, Katy Dowell and Richard Simmons are back to reveal the five firms they are watching in the coming years – for good or for ill.

With a list of 200 law firms, it’s not difficult to find some which pique our interest…but why have they?

Tune in as we discuss Freshfields, Hill Dickinson, BDB Pitmans, Osborne Clarke and BCLP.

And please remember to like and subscribe on your favourite podcast platform.

If this year's UK200 is anything to go by, the majority of UK law firms are in robust health. Indeed, they are finally fighting back against the growth of US competitors.

So why are so many upending their partnership models?

In part one of our two part podcast series celebrating the 20th edition of The Lawyer's UK200, editors Catrin Griffiths, Christian Smith, Matt Byrne, Katy Dowell and Richard Simmons sit down to discuss what this year's UK200 report tells us about the health of UK law firms and how a partnership evolution is changing the way law firms operate.

Come back in a fortnight for part two, when we reveal our picks for the five law firms to watch - for good or for ill.

Last week, A&O Shearman set out post-merger plans to close its legacy Allen & Overy base in Johannesburg, reduce its partnership by 10 per cent by the end of the financial year, and sell its consultancy business Consulting by A&O Shearman.

So is this a sign of things already going wrong, or is this all par for the course for big mergers?

In this new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, hosts Catrin Griffiths and Christian Smith are joined by deputy editor (City) Rachel Moloney and Horizon editor Katy Dowell to discuss the aftermath of mega mergers.

Drawing on the notable transatlantic mergers of Hogan Lovells, BCLP and Eversheds, the team discuss partner losses and the importance of the first six months of a newly consolidated operation. What mergers should A&O Shearman model? And is this culling a sign of weakness or strength?

Football law has typically been the domain of sports specialists. However, in recent years, there has been a growing number of large, elite firms and chambers entering the football market.

Clifford Chance and Freshfields act for Manchester City, and Slaughter and May and Linklaters represent the Premier League. Latham and Watkins worked on the Chelsea sale, sports boutiques like Northridge and Onside Law are going gangbusters, and Silver Circle firms Ashurst and Macfarlanes are also getting in on the action. Over at the Bar, Fountain Court has started its own sports law team.

With the hearing of the Premier League’s 115 charges against Manchester City expected this month, The Lawyer Podcast takes a look at why football law has gone mainstream, who the new entrants doing the best work are, and what the future might hold for lawyers and football.

The associate recruitment market has tightened up over the past year or two. For trainees looking to qualify, that means finding a home in their preferred practice area is more difficult too.

But qualification and, specifically, which team you qualify into, can be one of the most crucial moments in a solicitor’s career. 

So on the final episode of The Lawyer Podcast before the summer and with editor Catrin Griffiths away, litigation editor Christian Smith is joined by deputy editor (UK) Richard Simmons, senior reporter Lucie Cruz and reporter Charlotte Lear to debate how much a practice area actually matters, and what to do if you don’t get what you want.

Like many of you, The Lawyer Podcast will be taking a summer break for the month of August. Regular service will resume on 5th September. 

Labour won. Now what?

As Sir Keir Starmer walks into Downing Street, The Lawyer Podcast boils up a vat of coffee and brings you an election results show for lawyers.

With special guests including former Clifford Chance partner and tax celebrity Dan Neidle, we discuss which lawyers are in and out of Parliament after a night of change, look at what will be on the desk of the new Justice Secretary, and run through what a Labour victory means for lawyers working in different practice areas.

 For more, check out The Lawyer's coverage here:

https://www.thelawyer.com/election-2024-live/

https://www.thelawyer.com/dogs-and-their-lawyers-at-polling-stations-in-pictures/

https://www.thelawyer.com/keir-starmer-25-years-of-coverage-in-the-lawyer/

https://www.thelawyer.com/general-election-poll-results-lawyers-turn-to-labour/

The doom of the middle market has long been foretold.

As global mergers grab attention and smaller, boutique firms blossom, many question whether there is any role for mid-market practices in law’s future.

But, on Tuesday evening, Addleshaw Goddard marked a remarkable, decade-long turnaround as it was crowned Law Firm of the Year at The Lawyer Awards.

And Addleshaws is not the only mid-market firm to have proven its credentials, with commended and highly commended being awarded to Freeths and Shoosmiths.

What have they done, how have they done it, and what are the numbers to back it up?

All is revealed on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast. Plus, find out what Mishcon de Reya, Baker McKenzie, Tottenham Hotspur and Jason Beer KC all have in common. Listen now.

Law firms have long had a problem with gender equality. Partners and senior leaders are weighted heavily towards men, with an average of 2.35 male partner to every female partner in the UK's top 100 firms.

However, that number is actually much improved on five years ago, when it was 2.83 male partners to every female. The number of female senior and managing partners is also increasing, with the likes of Freshfields, Linklaters and Slaughter and May having appointed women to senior or managing partner positions in the past few years.

So on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, using research conducted by The Lawyer, Catrin and Christian chat with Horizon editor Katy Dowell and director of insight Matt Byrne about whether the tide is turning for women in leadership.