The Non-Billable Podcast

PwC’s latest law firm survey points to a growing divide in the UK legal market. The largest firms are pulling ahead, specialist players are finding profitable niches and parts of the mid-market are coming under increasing pressure. Mark Anderson, who leads PwC’s professional business services sector, joins the podcast to explain why more law firm mergers are inevitable and how firms caught in the...

King & Spalding is in growth mode in London. The office increased revenue by 48% last year, has expanded its footprint at 8 Bishopsgate and recently hired a major international arbitration and litigation team from WilmerHale. London managing partner Tom Sprange explains why the office has become central to the US firm’s international strategy. It is now King & Spalding’s fourth-largest off...

Walker Morris has nearly doubled in size over the past seven years while holding on to a model that looks increasingly distinctive: one office in Leeds and no international network of its own. Revenue reached a record £90.2m last year, leaving the firm within reach of its £100m Ambition 27 target. Managing partner Jeanette Burgess explains why she believes the single-site model still works. The bi...

Charles Russell Speechlys has expanded rapidly under managing partner Simon Ridpath, opening in Milan and Singapore before making a defining move into the US this year. The strategy is built around the firm’s ambition to become the world’s leading adviser to private capital – following wealthy individuals, families and entrepreneurs as their lives and investments become increasingly mobile globall...

Christian Bartsch is the CEO of Bird & Bird, the international law firm built around technology, IP and regulation. He joined the firm in 2007, became CEO in 2022 and was recently re-elected for a second term. In this episode, Bartsch explains how he followed a leader who had run the firm for 26 years and why he involved the wider partnership in shaping Bird & Bird’s first five-year strate...

Jo Farmer, joint managing partner of Lewis Silkin, joins the podcast to discuss the firm’s rapid growth and the strategy behind it. She explains why Lewis Silkin has resisted chasing revenue for its own sake, instead focusing on organic growth, its core strengths and expanding into locations where it sees opportunities for both clients and talent. Jo also talks about her own route into law, from g...

David Beech, CEO of listed law firm Knights, joins the podcast to discuss how he has built one of the UK's largest regional legal businesses since buying the firm in 2012. He explains why Knights has prioritised people and cash over traditional law firm metrics, how the business has grown through almost 30 acquisitions, and why he believes law firms should separate ownership from management. D...

Dom Griffiths, London managing partner of Mayer Brown, joins the podcast to discuss the strategy behind one of the firm's strongest years in London. He explains why Mayer Brown has invested so heavily in private capital, how targeted lateral hiring is reshaping the practice and where he believes the firm can differentiate in an increasingly competitive transatlantic market. Dom also reflects o...

Richard Medd, managing partner of Browne Jacobson, joins the podcast to discuss how the firm has doubled revenue over the past six years - revenue for the most recent financial year came in at a record £149m - and the strategy behind its recent growth. He explains why Browne Jacobson has invested heavily across its UK and Ireland network, the thinking behind its expanding London presence, and why...

Rebecca Anderson, Microsoft's head of legal for EMEA, joins the podcast to discuss how the in-house function at one of the world's biggest tech companies is adapting to the AI era. She explains why Microsoft has overhauled its legal operating model, how AI is changing the role of lawyers, and why the function is increasingly becoming a strategic partner to the business rather than simply a...

Brian Fahrney, chair of Sidley Austin's executive committee, joins the podcast to discuss the firm's transformation into one of the fastest-growing US law firms in London. He explains why Sidley spent years investing in private equity, how the strategy reshaped its London office, and why the firm remains bullish on the London market. The conversation explores the growing importance of the...

Segun Osuntokun, senior partner at BCLP, joins the podcast to discuss leadership, firm strategy and what it takes to run a global law firm while continuing to practise as a partner. Having held senior leadership roles at the firm for more than seven years, he reflects on BCLP's recent return to growth and the long-term strategy behind it. The conversation explores the lessons learned from the...

Private equity investment in law firms has become one of the most talked-about trends in the legal industry. But how much is actually happening? Why are investors interested in legal services, and what does outside capital mean for the traditional partnership model? In this special edition of the podcast, Oliver is joined by Patrick Savage (Burford Capital), Peter Jackson (former managing partner...

Tim Foden is co-head of the international arbitration group at Boies Schiller Flexner in London. In this episode, he joins the podcast to discuss his path into arbitration, his time at Allen & Overy and Quinn Emanuel, and why he believes specialist disputes firms offer something fundamentally different to full-service law firms. The conversation explores the business of international arbitrati...

Headhunter Scott Gibson returns to the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on what’s going on in the London partner market. As co-founder of Edwards Gibson, Scott tracks every major partner move in the City and has one of the clearest views of how the market is moving beneath the surface. We discuss why partner movement remains near record levels despite a tougher economic backdrop, the contin...

Axel Koelsch, COO of private equity-backed legal group Lawfront, joins the podcast to discuss how outside investment is reshaping the UK legal market and why he believes consolidation is still in its early stages. Koelsch explains how Lawfront’s model works in practice, why the group allows firms to retain their brands and leadership teams, and how central investment in areas like technology, oper...

In this episode, Maria-Pia Hope - former managing partner of top Swedish law firm Vinge and now CEO of private equity-backed legal group AGRD - explains why she believes the legal market is entering a “paradigm shift” driven by AI, technology and changing client expectations. Backed by Nordic PE firm Axcel, AGRD has already brought together eight Swedish commercial firms and is now one of the coun...

Today, we unpack the private wealth angle of Taylor Wessing’s merger with Winston & Strawn. Partners Gabriel Estevez and Nick Warr explain how the firm defines private wealth as a holistic, multi-service offering built around high net worth individuals and families, rather than a narrow private client practice. They discuss how the market has evolved, with clients becoming more international a...

In this episode, Dr Catherine Sykes, a psychologist and coach who works with City lawyers, explains why burnout is so common among high-performing professionals, and why it’s often misunderstood. Drawing on decades of experience, she argues burnout is not simply about long hours, but “constant effort without psychological returns with no end in sight,” where meaning, satisfaction and growth are mi...

In this episode, David Nicol, headhunter and co-head of Marsden’s US practice, breaks down the structure of the US legal market and how it has evolved over the past decade. From the dominance of New York as the global dealmaking hub to the distinct identities of markets like California, Texas and Chicago, he explains why the US is far more complex and fragmented than many outside it assume. The co...

Isabel Parker, chief innovation officer at White & Case, joins the podcast to talk about what it takes to drive innovation inside a global law firm. A former Freshfields lawyer and Deloitte partner, she shares how her career evolved from practice into leading transformation at one of the world’s largest firms. She explains why innovation isn’t just about technology, even in the age of AI. The...

John Hutchinson, managing partner of top 100 law firm Broadfield, joins the podcast to discuss the firm’s transformation from BDB Pitmans into a tech-enabled, internationally focused mid-market player. He explains the thinking behind the rebrand and the partnership with SHP, a subsidiary of Alvarez & Marsal, designed to support investment in technology, talent and global expansion. He outlines...

Pierre Proner is the CEO and co-founder of Lawhive. He joins the podcast to explain how his company is combining AI with a regulated law firm model to rethink consumer legal services. He shares how Lawhive pivoted from initially offering software to law firms, driven by a mission to improve access to legal help and reduce the inefficiencies in how consumer law is delivered. He discusses why sellin...

Ropes & Gray has been quietly rolling out one of the most ambitious European growth strategies among US firms in London. In this episode, London managing partner Rohan Massey and antitrust partner Ruchit Patel, who also sits on the firm’s governing policy committee, join the show to discuss how the firm has grown its London office from a two-partner launch in 2010 into a 250-person hub. We tal...

Legal tech has gone from “let’s run a few pilots” to “we need to scale this across the whole firm” - and Peter Duffy says that shift is now well underway in the UK’s top law firms firms. Peter is the founder of Titans, a boutique legal tech and AI consultancy advising large law firms, and he joins the podcast to take the temperature of the market and explain why things feel like they’ve accelerate...