The Lawyer Podcast The Lawyer

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...

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...

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?Last week, The Lawyer reported that time-poor lawyers are struggling to date in a profession where time is money. Longer hours for junior lawyers, compounded by a waning London dating market, is only adding to the problem.So on this episode of The Lawyer Podcast, editor Catrin Griffiths and litigation editor Christian Smith are joined by reporters Lucy Floydd and Charlotte Lear to discuss what new trends in lawyering mean for romance.We examine the law...

Last week, all eyes were on A&O Shearman, a union hailing Big Law and its future. But in this week’s episode, we consider why so many solicitors are pursuing another future: opening their own firm.A survey from Censuswide on behalf of Harbour Litigation Funding last year found that half of UK firm partners had ambitions to set up their own firm – up 10 per percent on 2021.So as The Lawyer Awards draws nearer, with the prestigious awards litigation boutique and specialist firm of the year ...

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&a...

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?