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12 January 2024 / Nigel Clark
Issue: 8054 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Out with the old… in with the new

Nigel Clark looks forward to some radical change in 2024
  • 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 against being a wage slave, but many lawyers feel similarly

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Anthony Collins—20 promotions

Anthony Collins—20 promotions

20 promotions mark major people investment at national law firm, Anthony Collins

Sidley—Elaine Whiteford

Sidley—Elaine Whiteford

Sidley adds competition litigator Elaine Whiteford in London

Charles Russell Speechlys—Claudina D’Costa

Charles Russell Speechlys—Claudina D’Costa

Charles Russell Speechlys welcomes Claudina D’Costa as Director of Client Development Marketing

NEWS
The 25th Pro Bono Week begins today until 6 November, with events hosted by law firms, chambers, law schools and charities across the UK
Pro bono is celebrating a silver anniversary, with initiatives putting businesses and students at the heart of access to justice
Choosing the wrong expert can cost a clinical negligence claimant more than their case
Judges risk weakening their own independence by staying silent over government reforms, a leading public lawyer argues
A discount on damages does not automatically mean an equivalent haircut for legal costs in military deafness claims
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