Trophy mandates and client plaudits: Weil’s London M&A team hits its stride
Weil London co-head David Avery-Gee on the differentiators helping his team punch above its weight on deals
Highlights
The ‘football managers’ of the legal world – why real estate PE partners are in high demand
Lateral partner moves soar in corporate real estate as firms move to bulk up private equity offerings
Life During Law
Sidley leader Yvette Ostolaza on role models, ambition and private investment in law
Firm management committee chair talks LB through a lifetime of firsts
‘I’m sure I made a ton of mistakes’ – McDermott’s Coleman on fresh thinking, leadership lessons and why scale matters
McDermott Will & Schulte chair Ira Coleman on his life during law, from leading the 'the little engine that could' Miami office to overseeing a $3bn merger
The Client Profile: Arm legal chief Spencer Collins on humble starts and career successes
Tech giant's CLO on gaining the trust of SoftBank's CEO, the stalled $40bn sale to Nvidia and what he's learned about building a successful in-house career
Freshfields’ Charles Hayes on emotional intelligence, Formula One deals, sheep and daring to press the button
Charlie Hayes, the global co-head of the private capital group at Freshfields, on everything from delivering lambs and making tables from trees to the importance of clarity in client communications
Life During Law: Karen Seward
Life During Law: former A&O chief Wim Dejonghe
<p>Dejonghe, who was recently named Management Partner of the Year at the LB Awards, on mergers, money and his future plans</p>
‘Debunk assumptions by doing surprising things’ – Paul Weiss’s Nicole Kar on succeeding in City law
<p>Ahead of International Women’s Day Nicole Kar, global co-chair of antitrust at Paul Weiss, discusses thriving in the deep end and why there is still more room at the top for women in law</p>
Life During Law: Jeroen Ouwehand
<p>‘I’d be asked: “Are you the guy from The Bold and the Beautiful?”‘</p>
A&O’s Wim Dejonghe on mergers, money and his plans for life after law
<p>Ahead of the A&O Shearman merger, outgoing A&O senior partner Wim Dejonghe sat down with <em>LB</em> to discuss lessons from previous merger talks, his plans for the future and his views on the ‘unhealthy’ levels of money in law</p>
Life During Law: Scott Hopkins
Life During Law – Simon Levine
<p>“Running a law firm is a lot like running a mafia crew — without the killing.”</p>
Life During Law: Natasha Luther-Jones
<p>DLA Piper’s international head of sustainability and ESG on choosing the law over marrying rich and the perils of life on the road</p>
Leadership
‘We needed more flexibility’ – Georgia Dawson on reshaping Freshfields for the future
From partner pay reform to US expansion, AI and overhauling the firm's business services function, Freshfields senior partner Georgia Dawson has been busy. She spoke to LB about her first five years in the role
‘Complete integration of strategy and leadership’ – DLA Piper’s leaders on why they’re ditching the verein and going global
Firm co-CEOs Charles Severs and Frank Ryan on why now is the time for deeper integration
Dentons CEO sets out plan to take the firm from ‘pre-teen’ to ‘young adult’
CEO Kate Barton on her ambitious strategy for the firm
‘We see London as a gateway’: Katten City chief on the strategy shift that doubled UK revenues
Katten has doubled London revenues over the past five years - office managing partner Christopher Hitchins talked to Alex Ryan about turning the City base around
‘Fresh perspectives’ – Gibson Dunn’s new London co-heads set out City plans
Gibson Dunn's new London co-heads Rob Carr and Osma Hudda tell LB about their leadership plans
‘Unlocking the full power of our offering’ - Pinsents senior partner on sharpening the firm’s competitive edge
Andrew Masraf on searching for the levers of growth and the value of competition
Addleshaws leader on corporate ambitions, key clients and why a US merger isn’t part of the £1bn 2030 strategy
Addleshaw Goddard managing partner Andrew Johnston talks about international expansion, sticking to the strategy and the firm's new London office
Goodwin COO: ‘I want to disrupt not just scale a law firm’
Mary O'Carroll on bringing California's 'move fast and break things' ethos to law
‘Private credit are the new banks’: Proskauer’s A&O and Cahill hires on the US firm’s ambitious finance push
Proskauer has recently made waves in London with a quartet of big-name laterals from A&O and Cahill Gordon - part of an ambitious play to build a full-coverage finance practice in the City. LB spoke to the team to find out more
IWD 2026: Meet the female founders behind some of the UK’s top legal boutiques
Female law firm founders on building boutiques, creating an alternative culture and the scourge of mansplaining in the legal profession
‘We need to remember how well we’ve been doing’ – new Eversheds chief Froud on leadership, tech and global goals
New global co-CEO talks strategy, integration and management after stepping into top post this week
‘You have to keep swinging’ – Paul Hastings leaders on building London and cracking the global elite
Paul Hastings leaders Frank Lopez and Sherrese Smith on running the firm like an asset manager and why they're front and centre of the firm's ambitious recruitment drive
