Slaughter and May’s new wellbeing code is intended to help fee-earners as they navigate a competitive legal environment. But the challenge is making it work when being responsive and available is seen as the gold standard.
Meeting the most urgent legal needs in our communities is a top priority, especially during the cost of living crisis, but the skillset of lawyers with capacity to do pro bono work often does not match the area of need. Can secondary specialisation and investing in increasing supervisory capacity address these issues?
October is Black History Month. We are given 31 days to reflect on the enormous contribution Black people have made to the history of this country; to re-examine diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives; and to press the reset button if we feel that our existing ways of operating are no longer working. But, when […]
As a Black woman growing up in the UK, I have always been aware of the racial disparities in this country; however, as I embarked on my legal career, I was appalled by the issues I encountered as a visible minority. I have had to overcome a number of obstacles in becoming a lawyer, requiring […]
October is Black History Month in the United Kingdom. Many employers are celebrating this by championing new and innovative diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives alongside praising the accomplishments of people of Black heritage in their workforce, as well as Black leaders in society more broadly. Beneath all of this fanfare, there seem to be […]
Late into the night at Côte Brasserie in Barbican, two lawyers are deep in quiet conversation. The topic: what Boies Schiller’s London office does next. It was early December 2021. It had been a few weeks since Natasha Harrison, once touted as the heir apparent to prominent founder David Boies, announced she was leaving the […]
The richest partners save hundreds of thousands a year because of the national insurance rules.
This week marked a year since the Supreme Court’s decision in Lloyd v Google in which a multibillion-pound data protection claim brought against the tech giant was thrown out. The immediate aftermath saw a long pipeline of data claims dropped in a flash. But 12 months on and claimant firms are anticipating a bounce-back. Here are […]
Meetings between law firm leaders can be casual, just a polite meeting to chew the fat over a cup of coffee, or they can have a serious intent. Last month, when Dickson Minto’s de facto managing partner Jordan Simpson met with a delegation from New York’s Fried Frank, it was the latter. Make no mistake, […]
UK law firm revenues are up for the first half of the 2022/23 financial year, but many leaders are beginning to feel the squeeze.
While the gender debate rages on between family and friends, on social media and now in the workplace, a growing number of women have been fighting their employers tooth-and-nail over the right to hold gender-critical beliefs without being subject to workplace discrimination. In 2021, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that think-tank researcher Maya Forstater […]
Let’s do some maths. If you take away weekends, bank holidays and a 25-day holiday allowance, full-time employees are likely to work 227 days a year. Given that a usual working day lasts 7.5 hours, you should be putting in at least 1,702 hours in total. Any lawyer with a billable hours target of over […]
How a legal team took on the might of the Post Office to put right one of the biggest miscarriages of justice the UK has ever seen
Seven in-house lawyers express their gratitude to external advisers for helping them through the pandemic, while giving pointers on how to move forward.
We meet the legal professionals who have taken a leap into the future of finance, travelling from private practice into a world where there are fortunes to be made but also regulatory mountains to be climbed
Meet the class of 2021: Becoming a QC is a huge achievement for the individuals concerned, but the lack of Black people at this level should be a pressing concern for the Bar
Clyde & Co is now searching for its next senior partner, as Peter Hirst became the third leader in a row to stand down early. A firm that was previously famed for leadership stability has some internal issues to solve.
This year, the courts play host to a series of long-running financial and competition cases, while it looks like UK Government lawyers will be extremely busy.
A year which began on a positive note for most firms turned into one plagued by uncertainty, as society at large coped with the biggest upheaval since the Second World War
The overnight shift to remote working during lockdown has shaken up attitudes to the traditional commute forever, while raising fears over childcare assistance and career development, our major industry-wide survey reveals
China dominates at a time of political and economic uncertainty, with Covid-19 set to have a profound effect moving forward
Why tensions between the US and China are worse news to China’s elite firms than the current pandemic
Global business is increasingly familiar with the prospect of short-notice public investigatory attention, whether from regulators, law enforcement, political forces or as a consequence of sanctions, and this can – in in some cases – devastate individual and corporate reputation.
Despite the fact that the threat of an investigation alone can be enough to paralyse a business, early warning signs are often missed and businesses can mistake an investigation risk for a reputation risk. Those who handle serious issues well are able to triage the issue at an early stage and identify its potential impact, […]
Analysis of recent fines suggests that environmental prosecutions are resulting in more substantial fines, especially for ‘very large organisations’.
On September 22, 2021, the Quebec government adopted Bill 64, An Act to modernize legislative provisions as regards the protection of personal information, enacting significant changes to the requirements governing the use and protection of personal information under various statutes, including notably the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector and the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information.
The Data Protection Authority in Hungary (Nemzeti Adatvédelmi és Információszabadság Hatóság), recently published its annual report which included details of a fine of €670,000 (HUF 250,000,000) being imposed on a bank. To date, this fine is the highest imposed by the Hungarian Authority.
Environmental, social and governance factors (ESG) alongside sustainability are hot topics in business right now. Employees are increasingly scrutinising what employers are doing to promote sustainability, not least in the benefits they offer.
In this podcast, Gowling joins leading global infrastructure and renewables market analysts Inspiratia to discuss innovation in the UK power purchase agreement (PPA) market, and whether the prices we see today are transitionary and if so, how PPAs can make such prices sustainable and meet the ever-changing needs of both offtakers and sellers.
Angolan Central Bank (Banco Nacional de Angola) Notice no. 9/22 of 6 April was recently published to establish special schemes for mortgage credit and construction credit.
After a challenging year, UK cities are gaining foreign investment and developing their presence on the global stage. How has the pandemic, COP-26 and officially leaving the EU impacted the value of investment in the UK from a global standpoint?
On April 7, 2022, Ontario released its first-ever Hydrogen Strategy (the Ontario Strategy), making it the latest province to address Canadian hydrogen sector growth through policy.
Ferry company P&O hit the headlines last month when it made 800 workers redundant via an online video call and with almost no notice.
Build to rent is a rapidly growing sector – and one with a lot of potential for developers and investors.
In the latest episode of the fortnightly The Lawyer Podcast, editor Catrin Griffiths and litigation editor Christian Smith are back with the stories driving the UK legal market. Football’s World Cup could be the most controversial in recent history and has shone a spotlight on the role of sport and business in Qatari nation-building. So […]
The first episode of The Lawyer Podcast is out now! In the first episode of the new fortnightly The Lawyer Podcast, hosts Catrin Griffiths and Christian Smith dive into the top stories shaking the UK legal market. They discuss why Slaughter and May’s new work-life balance code has got people talking, plus what it says […]
In this episode The Lawyer editor Catrin Griffiths and deputy editor Matt Byrne discuss the impact of coronavirus, the latest US financials season, and whether law firms are actually listening to their clients on one of the biggest issues in the world today.
The latest episode of The Lawyer Wellness Podcast is a recording of a panel discussion that took place at The Lawyer‘s recent in-house counsel as business partner summit, featuring both general counsel and private practice lawyers who have battled their own mental health issues. It features David McCahon (global head of commercial, innovation and technology […]
Episode 3 of The Lawyer Wellness Podcast is now available to download on iTunes. In this episode, Cleary associate Eloise Skinner and The Lawyer’s features editor Richard Simmons discuss what mindfulness is and provide an example exercise. For those without iTunes/Apple Music, you can also listen on Acast, on Stitcher and on SoundCloud. On all platforms, search […]
Episode 2 of The Lawyer’s Wellness Podcast is now available to download on Acast (search for The Lawyer wellness podcast) and on SoundCloud.
