Signs of hope, despite another male-dominated silk round
The issue is not so much attracting women to the Bar; it is about how to help female barristers build and maintain a career, writes deputy editor Matt Byrne.
City firms are nowhere near bridging the North-South divide
HS2 aside, it’s clear that regenerating the regions means more business for firms in situ. However, opportunities for the City elite in the regions is limited and having an outsourcing hub won’t necessarily help that narrative.
1
Bliss it is in this dawn to be alive: predictions for the next 10 years in the law
Since 2010, change has been gradual. Workplace cultures are largely more thoughtful and accepting than they were a decade ago, but the idea that the practice of law has been disrupted is laughable. Excuse me if I raise an eyebrow at managing partners getting excited about the elite consultancy model and diversity of professional experience […]
Not quite a gender crisis, but there are a lot of angry female barristers out there – and with good reason
The poor pipeline of female employment silk applications isn’t due to shyness or lack of ability; it’s structural.
Winter is coming for Middle England law firms – they can’t say they weren’t warned
One of my biggest bugbears is the prediction that the City mid-tier is doomed. That opinion is simply not rooted in evidence; these firms with revenues in the £100m-£250m band constitute a perfectly healthy and unconsolidated market. Rather, the problems lie elsewhere. The Lawyer UK 200 data shows that the most vulnerable group of firms […]
Leadership still means ‘lawyer’: the age-old ‘us and them’ hierarchy is alive and well
Leadership, according to one London-based firm head, means “putting other people first”. Really? That’s unlikely to be most people’s response to the question of what makes a good law firm leader. For most, it usually means whoever can make us more money, each year, without fail. But there are signs that senior lawyers across the […]
At least the competition lawyers have found a Brexit dividend
Given that we are apparently obliged to contemplate Brexit until the great trumpet sounds, let’s consider some of the consequences of the referendum that we’re seeing winding through the courts. There are three Brexit-related pieces of litigation in The Lawyer Top 20 Cases 2019. As noted in today’s cover feature. Brick Court barristers are on […]
Want some easy pickings in UK law? Insurance firms are juicy targets
Spare a thought for EC3. Clyde & Co and Kennedys may have expanded overseas, but you can’t buccaneer your way to domestic growth. One of the biggest questions facing insurance firms is how they can increase their share of a static market where panel reviews can determine major revenue streams. Virtually every senior figure predicts […]
Access to justice: A little more talk, please, from the City. Your silence is starting to be noticed
Fair dealings under the rule of law, from which the commercial legal sector has derived immense riches, is under threat.
City 50: Forget Project Fear, the UK legal pie keeps getting bigger
There are 21 US-headquartered firms in the City 50, our first-ever ranking of law firms by London revenue. That fact alone has caused some jitters among certain sections of the UK market. It shouldn’t. The US firms are taking over? No, no, no: they’re really not. The magic circle accounts for 25 per cent of […]
Step forward, litigators: you’re in the driving seat in the global elite
Litigation, the engine of the stratospheric domestic profits for US firms, is, ironically, the calling card for the UK’s elite law firms if they are ever to crack America, writes The Lawyer’s editor Catrin Griffiths.
It’s not about the kit. In tech and innovation, firms need to learn to speak fluent human
There will soon be a transfer market for law’s tech celebrities, and the internal opportunities are attractive.