The Bar
Steven Fennell, company and insolvency specialist,
Exchange Chambers (Call 2014; Solicitor 1996)
My route into law started with a training contract in 1994. Before then, I completed a postgraduate degree and taught at a university for a few years. I decided to go into practice because academia wasn’t as interesting or rewarding as I thought it would be and even then, the system seemed to be offering …
Interview with...
Stewarts’ head of financial crime talks trading chambers for a law firm environment, the challenges ahead for the criminal Bar, and the current trends in financial crime
Why did you decide to leave the independent Bar and 2 Bedford Row to become a partner at Stewarts? At the Bar, I was involved in many large cases working as part of a large legal team. Over time, I realised that I enjoyed running these teams and empowering the other professionals I worked with. …
Continue reading “Richard Kovalevsky QC: We are in for a buoyant period”
The Bar
Bill Braithwaite QC, head of Exchange Chambers
For many years there has been talk about the amalgamation of the solicitors’ and barristers’ professions; a fused profession, a one-stop shop, and so on. It seems to have gone quiet at the moment, but maybe that’s because it’s happening stealthily! Some of our most successful barristers (over 10%) are former solicitors, and it’s fascinating …
Interview with...
Eversheds Sutherlands’ European managing partner talks about her new role, continental growth, cultural alignment, and challenges facing the real estate world
What are you planning to focus on in your new role as European managing partner? This is a really exciting time to take on this role. Eversheds Sutherland is going through a period of growth and investment across our European business. For example, in Germany and the Netherlands in the past six months we have …
Continue reading “Helen Thomas: Without a planet, all this tech is pointless”
Interview with...
Pinheiro Neto Advogados’ managing partner discusses Brazil’s economic uncertainty, how technology is forcing lawyers out of their comfort zone, and why there is no magic formula for talent retention
How would you define your firm’s culture? The most important thing in a firm is culture because it is a singular factor in these days of greater dissemination of knowledge and access to national and international good practices. We have a distinct culture because we are both traditional and modern at the same time, and …
Continue reading “Alexandre Bertoldi: Every plan is a big bet”
The Big Issue
Increasing investor, regulatory, and community pressure is rapidly accelerating climate change related risks to business, write Elisa de Wit and law graduate Francis Meehan
The ‘School Strike for Climate’ movement, spearheaded by Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg, appears to have mobilised the sense of urgency around climate change, and as recently stated by BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie: ‘As we have seen from activism and debates from schools to parliaments all around the world, we see this period as an escalation …
Law Firm Strategy
Why is it that a chimpanzee can out-strategise a lawyer? Because science, explains Dr Bob Murray
Lately I have been interviewing a great many people for a book my partner Dr Alicia Fortinberry and I are writing. It’s about what lessons we can learn about strategy from the latest research in psychology and neurogenetics. From the interviews, the studies we have read, and our own research we have reached a number …
Continue reading “Law firm partners don’t understand strategy”
Marketing
What content do legal publications want from law firms? Candice Witton, content lead at Propero Partners, has the answers
In 1996, Bill Gates declared ‘content is king’. Now over two decades later, there’s really no denying the power of content marketing. Content marketing is the catch-all term for anything from how-to blogs to thought leadership editorial pieces. In this instance it refers to writing (be it legal analysis or news) featured in legal publications, …