The Lawyer Podcast

Send us a textThe new episode of The Lawyer Podcast is out now!Across the UK and Europe, new types of litigation are booming – and the money is pumping in.On this episode of The Lawyer Podcast, Catrin Griffiths, Christian Smith and Alex Taylor sit down to debate what the future holds for the once maligned practice area, and whether litigators are proving themselves more creative than their transactional colleagues.

Send us a textSalary wars are so 2022. Or are they?On Tuesday this week, The Lawyer’s deputy editor (UK) Rich Simmons revealed the largest firm pay gaps between London and the regions.Did you know that Hogan Lovells’ Birmingham newly qualifieds (NQs) are paid £45,000 less than their London colleagues? And Eversheds Sutherland’s regional NQs are all paid £33,000 less than those in the City? A London-regional pay gap has always existed, but lawyers are starting to question whether it has ever been so big, and if it is still fair.Suffice to say, the question led to a particularly robust debate in The Lawyer’s newsroom, so on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, the London-based Catrin and Christian are joined by Rich Simmons from Brighton, deputy news editor Jessica Boak from Leeds, and Horizon editor, Devonshire’s own, Katy Dowell to sort out the divide once and for all.

Send us a textThe Lawyer’s Horizon Live is due to kick off next month. We are launching a series of webinars, dinners and roundtables featuring some of the biggest names in law discussing the most prominent issues affecting the profession.To celebrate, on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, four of The Lawyer’s editors present some of their favourite Horizons in recent times.The Lawyer editor Catrin Griffiths presents Horizon editor Katy Dowell’s piece Just let more women in the equity, Rich Simmons brings us his Horizon Oxford is the New Cambridge, deputy news editor Jessica Boak argues that firms need to be bolder in their net zero plans in Don’t backtrack like Sunak, and international editor Alex Taylor argues why Freshfields is still a staunch Europhile.You can subscribe to Horizon Live here.

Send us a textProfits are falling and costs are rising. On the latest episode of The Lawyer Podcast, the team chat about why profit isn't a dirty word:Love it or hate it, PEP is part of a firm's branding and the status of its lawyers;Profit matters for firms' long-term health and investment;Would-be partners should use PEP in tandem with intel on capital requirements to know what they're letting themselves in for;Freshfields is deluded if it thinks it can ignore PEP as a metric.For all this and more, the annual UK200 on the UK Signal Channel, sponsored by Thomson Reuters, is out now. Read it here.  

Send us a textProposed redundancies at CMS and Taylor Rose have raised associate anxieties across the market, with many wondering whether they could be the start of wider trouble.Hosts Catrin Griffiths and Christian Smith are joined by director of insight Matt Byrne and deputy editor (UK) Rich Simmons to discuss what you need to know, and whether you should be worried.

Send us a textWhy is everyone talking about Paul Weiss and Neel Sachdev?The Lawyer Podcast is BACK after the summer break and for the first episode of the new term, the team take on the hottest story of the summer: Paul Weiss and its big London play.Join hosts Catrin Griffiths, Christian Smith and guests Matt Byrne and Rachel Moloney as they unlock the Chamber of Secrets to reveal what you need to know, why you need to know it, and what it all means for the likes of Kirkland, Slaughters, Macfarlanes and the rest.

Send us a textLike many of its listeners, The Lawyer Podcast is on its summer holidays.But hanging over the summer for partners at A&O and Shearman & Sterling is the question of whether they should vote through the two firms’ proposed merger.With the vote expected in the Autumn, whether the biggest firm tie-up in decades will actually go through is still a live debate.So if you’re looking for something to listen to while you sip your next piña colada and look out to sea, check out this episode on the merger from our archives, recorded less than 24 hours after it was first announced.

Send us a textThe last episode of The Lawyer Podcast before the summer break is out now!Join hosts Catrin and Christian as they speak with Horizon editor Katy Dowell about why so many firms are moving or upgrading offices, and why they don’t all agree on what the future office should look like.What do treasure chests, Robert the Bruce, Adam Smith, seduction and sedition have in common? Anderson Strathern, as it turns out. The Lawyer Podcast chats to managing partner Murray McCall about how the firm discovered its, and half of Scotland’s, history.And we are live from The Lawyer’s In-House Financial Services conference where we are joined by two GCs to talk about getting to grips with the financial services sector, what to expect from life as a GC, and AI (obviously). The Lawyer Podcast will be taking a summer break over July and August but will return in the Autumn.

Send us a textThe new episode of The Lawyer Podcast is out now!On this episode, Catrin and Christian preview next week’s The Lawyer Awards and take a look at some of the categories exciting them this year.Rachel Moloney, deputy editor (City), joins the podcast to discuss which firms retain talented senior lawyers in corporate when they're not making partner, while other firms just don’t like it (hint, it’s the US ones).And following the launch of Horizon Live last week, we bring you an excerpt of the discussion between the London managing partners of three leading US firms. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s Jason Glover, Jenner and Block’s Christine Braamskamp, and Mayer Brown’s Dominic Griffiths join to tell us why an economic downturn isn’t a bad thing for private equity lawyers, and what they think about the A&O – Shearman & Sterling merger.

Send us a textThe new episode of The Lawyer Podcast comes to you live from The Lawyer’s recent GC conference in Bedfordshire.Catrin and Christian are joined by a range of senior in-house leaders, along with journalists from The Lawyer to discuss what’s keeping GCs up at night.Sarah Binder from Lime and Kodak’s John O’Reilly explain how a bad economy is making life tough for in-house lawyers, Chanel’s Cécile Cailac suggests what in-house counsel can do so they aren’t seen as idea killers, Mollie Stoker from Ocado gives her advice on improving retention in a competitive market, and Adam Woodhall of Lawyers for Net Zero argues why GCs can tackle climate change during their day jobs.Deputy editor (UK) Rich Simmons and in-house reporter Lucie Cruz also join to tell listeners what they’re hearing behind the scenes at the conference.Please note, this podcast was recorded on 11 May 2023.