The Lawyer Podcast

BONUS episode: Taylor Wessing’s big US gamble

Send us a textAs if 2025 needed just another little dollop of big legal news, Taylor Wessing and Winston & Strawn are set to become the fourth major transatlantic merger in two and a half years.So The Lawyer Podcast is back for an unexpected bonus episode as they talk through the announcement.The second transatlantic tie-up in a month, the team discusses what the firms are up to, what it means for Germany and the rest of Europe, and whether it is actually a good idea, or a bold mistake…Hosts Catrin Griffiths and Christian Smith are joined by deputy insight editor Nikhil Raj Aggarwal and international editor Charlie Johnstone, along with very special guest Aled Griffiths, the founder of German legal magazine Juve. 

Why 2025 marked a turning point for the business of law

Send us a textAs 2025 draws to a close, it feels like 2025 has been an inflection point for the legal sector.While firm financials largely look good, fundamental changes are underway on both sides of the Atlantic.Technology, investment, mergers and even politics all shook the business of law this year.So for the final episode of The Lawyer Podcast in 2025, we take a look back at what has changed for the sector this year, and what it means for 2026.

The unfiltered take on the Ashurst Perkins Coie merger

Send us a textUnlike A&O’s tie up with Shearman and Sterling, Ashurst’s announcement that it had agreed a merger did not come as a surprise.The firm had been in the market for a US-merger for more than two decades, yet its new partner, Perkins Coie, did still come as a bit of a surprise.The silver circle firm clearly needed to make its move, but was it the right one?Tune in to the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast as hosts Catrin Griffiths and Christian Smith are joined by Matt Byrne and Nikhil Raj Aggarwal discuss what the move might mean for the two firms, the wider market, and those firms leftover who are still looking for their own merger partner.

Merger mania hits New York

Send us a textThe Lawyer’s editor Catrin Griffiths and director of insight Matt Byrne are back from a fact-finding mission in New York, and merger mania is gripping the city’s lawyers.As firms seek scale, reach and private capital clients, some of the oldest firms in the Big Apple are pondering how a tie up could help their bottom line.And while private equity investment into firms is all the rage in the UK, in the US it is starting to gain traction as well.So in the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, Catrin and Matt recount what they learned on their adventure across New York last week…

Let's tax all the lawyers!

Send us a textTax rises for partnerships may be on the way in next month’s Budget – and potentially big ones at that.Many lawyers were left shocked after the news broke last week that the Government is considering adding the equivalent of employer’s national insurance onto partnerships.So on the new episode of The Lawyer Podcast, we ask what that might mean for a range of firms, whether it is a good idea (or just good politics), what firms might do about it, and what friend of the show and former Clifford Chance head of tax Dan Neidle thinks…You can read The Lawyer’s piece on the idea from 2022 here:https://www.thelawyer.com/the-treasury-could-tax-commercial-law-firms-an-extra-1bn-and-theyd-barely-notice/