Out with the old… in with the new

• Proposes lawyers adopt a different approach to client fees, billing targets, the partnership model and the long-hours culture.

Now 2024 has arrived, I have been reflecting on my 25-year career in the legal sector during which I’ve worked in ‘Big Law’ across four countries and three continents, and with alternative, consultancy platforms including my own which merged with Nexa back in 2017.

While I am passionate about the UK legal sector, it would be fair to say that, in my opinion, many aspects of it need to modernise or, at least, require a new approach, starting with….

The billable hour, machismo firm culture & the gender pay gap

From the moment we qualify as lawyers we know how much billable time we must do each day, week, month, year to prosper in our law firms and progress in our careers.

Philip Larkin asked, ‘Why should I let the toad work/ Squat on my life?’ as he railed