Leadership
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner co-chair Lisa Mayhew speaks to UK Solicitors editor Georgina Stanley on 2018’s transatlantic merger and the strategy for future growth
‘What have I learned?’ quips Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) co-chair Lisa Mayhew, speaking to The Legal 500 last month on the first anniversary of the firm’s merger, ‘I’ve learned that mergers are hard work and you don’t sleep much.’ The combined firm launched at the start of April last year, when top 20 UK …
Continue reading “Making a merger – the hard yards behind the first year of BCLP”
Career corner
Senior researcher Dr Dana Ferchland explains how US patent litigation practices have adapted to the changing legal landscape and grown their talent pool
The US patent litigation market has evolved significantly over the past few years. Two main drivers are responsible for most of these changes. The first is 2012’s America Invents Act which introduced the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and established inter partes reviews (IPR) as a new tool to challenging the validity of patents. …
Continue reading “Being nimble wins the game”
Technology
Whether making a direct investment or utilising the products of others, there’s plenty of options for robot lawyering, says Dan Carmel, chief marketing officer of iManage
Information is the coin of the realm for any corporate legal department or law firm – and that is probably why the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) has a generated so much excitement across the legal industry. AI, properly applied, can produce dramatic productivity improvements, enabling document reviews and other basic legal tasks to be …
Continue reading “How to become a smart shopper of AI”
Human rights
Australia’s first federal Modern Slavery Act came into effect on 1 January 2019, in a move that has been hailed as a significant step to end forced labour and human trafficking. Law firms have started responding with changes to their teams to advise clients on the act’s implications. Under the new law, companies with an …
Continue reading “Legal advice must include human rights considerations”
Pro bono
Every year, members of The Legal 500 join with thousands of legal professionals pounding the streets of London and the South East of England to raise money for pro bono advice centres. Sarita Guatama and Rosa Coleman of the London Legal Support Trust explain why these funds are so crucial to advice centres and the clients they help.
Access to justice is a basic principle of the rule of law; it is a right, not a privilege. However, the effects of legal aid cuts combined with local authority cuts have had a significant effect on the availability and accessibility of free legal advice, meaning that the most vulnerable people cannot access the help …
Continue reading “Accessing justice in a time of austerity”
Marketing
Technology won’t change the face of law overnight but firms should be prepared to innovate, says Sean Graham, Seddons’ head of marketing and business development
With a younger roster of legal professionals clawing their way up the ranks, we are seeing a workforce which understands the importance of technology, realises the benefits of using it, and adapts to and utilises new tech quicker than before. This also means that they expect much more from their marketing teams. Technology is expanding …
Continue reading “Embracing technology in legal marketing”
The big issue
Big Law does not have a great reputation for promoting good mental health, but Morgan Lewis’ management is looking to change that, writes Krista Logelin
Your wellbeing is not fixed. The extent to which you are thriving is something each of us has the ability to influence, which is why I’ve chosen to focus my career on enabling individuals and organisations to flourish. In my position as director of employee wellbeing, I am tasked with designing and implementing a custom …
Continue reading “How ‘well’ are you? Conceptualising a wellbeing programme”
The big issue
Poor mental health won’t be solved until we marry the business of law with human design-specs, argues Dr Bob Murray
‘Ted’ was not old, maybe in his mid-60s. He was the managing partner of his mid-sized law firm in regional England. His colleagues told me that he seemed always bright and cheerful. Last month he committed suicide. About one in three lawyers of all stripes ideate suicide once a year. Criminal lawyers and barristers come …
Continue reading “The present business of law and mental health”
The big issue
Young Barristers’ Committee chair Athena Markides highlights the impact of judicial bullying, harassment, and poor wellbeing on the junior Bar
As chair of the Young Barristers’ Committee (YBC), one of my first tasks is to set the committee’s priorities for the year. Along with business as usual (e.g. Brexit and court reform), the YBC needs to identify key issues facing barristers in their first seven years of practice, and then to try and address those …
Continue reading “Don’t trade your mental health for success”
