They are a 30-something Comprehensive school-educated non-Oxbridge grad, it emerges during daring interview The identity of the blogging barrister who is captivating the legal profession is a step closer to being revealed after they did a daring in-person interview at a central London fast food joint. The revealing insight into the person behind The Secret Barrister will be published in tomorrow’s Financial Times as part of its popular Lunch with the FT series. Here is the key section, taken from the online edition (£) when the Secret Barrister walks into Tommi’s Burger Joint in Marylebone, central London:
Speculation about the identity of the Secret Barrister is raging in the robing rooms and chambers of England & Wales. With around 13,500 practising, self-employed barristers, approximately 25% of which specialise in criminal law, the news that the Secret Barrister is aged between 30-40, is of slight build and didn’t go to Oxbridge or a private school will narrow down the pool of potential authors significantly. Add to that the likelihood that the Secret Barrister is a man — 60% of barristers are male, and SB referred to his moustache in his early days of blogging — and there seems to be a very real chance that he could be identified. At present, “nobody knows in the industry” who the Secret Barrister is, according to the FT interview. If that were to change, the Secret Barrister says that “in reality I wouldn’t be able to keep practising and writing … I would inevitably feel compromised in the writing and would either have to jack that in altogether or leave the Bar, neither of which I want to do.” So maybe for the sake of everyone — his readers, the legal aid bar who he has done a great job of championing and ultimately his own barrister career — it’s better that the secret never gets out. But perhaps permanent anonymity isn’t part of the Secret Barrister’s grand plan. The post The Secret Barrister unmasked in London burger joint appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2018/06/the-secret-barrister-unmasked-in-london-burger-joint/
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Ex-Freshfields lawyer Allison Lucas also tried her hand at journalism The ex-magic circle legal boss of news and entertainment website BuzzFeed is packing her bags after a five-year stint at the digital media outlet. BuzzFeed has not commented on the reasons for Lucas’s departure except that a spokesperson did tell the media that five years is “a long time in BuzzFeed years!” Allison Lucas, who has been based in the New York offices of BuzzFeed in charge of a team of 14 legal eagles, started life as a journalist for a couple of industry titles in the US before opting for the law, studying at Manhattan-based Fordham University Law School where she won an award for legal writing. Lucas then launched her legal career, surviving two years with Freshfields‘ securities and M&A teams in the US followed by a stint at Greenburg Taurig, a US firm (described on website Glassdoor as “a great place to rest” (!)). She made the move in-house at United Media, doing intellectual property work, according to her LinkedIn page. An opportunity to work for a burgeoning news business was the perfect fit for Lucas with her newshound background and the role must certainly have been knife-edge at times. As BuzzFeed’s general counsel she was, for example, on the receiving end of a Trump-related lawsuit at the beginning of the year. Donald Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, sued the news outlet over their publishing of a dossier (in which he is mentioned) that makes links between the US President and the Russian Government at the time of Trump’s election in 2016. BuzzFeed has a funny relationship with lawyers. A few years ago, Legal Cheek covered the news site’s evaluation of law students at university. And earlier this year, it uploaded a YouTube video featuring US law school horror stories. The post OMG! BuzzFeed loses its first-ever general counsel appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2018/06/omg-buzzfeed-loses-its-first-ever-general-counsel/ Allen & Overy and Linklaters latest to pay US newly qualified lawyers eye-watering figure that works out just shy of £150k MoneyLaw madness is spreading. In the latest junior lawyer pay rise stampede, the US offices of Allen & Overy and Linklaters have followed Clifford Chance and Freshfields in increasing the salaries of their American newly qualified (NQ) lawyers to a staggering $190,000 (£144,000). Although the megabucks has yet to reach solicitors in magic circle firms’ London headquarters, it’s getting closer. Already, English-qualified rookies at the London offices of US firms including Akin Gump, Kirkland & Ellis, Fried Frank, Latham & Watkins, Milbank and Simpson Thacher are earning £144,000 straight out of their training contracts. That incredible figure more than doubles as the associates climb the ranks, with a nine-year-qualified lawyer pulling in a whopping $350,000 (£266,000). And it’s expected that the magic circle firms are going to have to pay American NQs on secondment in London the MoneyLaw wage earned by their peers stateside. So it will be surely only a matter of time before the firms’ homegrown London talent start hustling for a raise. As it stands, reference to the Legal Cheek Firms Most List shows that Clifford Chance is the top payer of English NQs in London, handing them a salary of £87,300. Freshfields is second with annual remuneration of £85,000, followed by Allen & Overy at £81,000, Slaughter and May at £80,000 and Linklaters at £78,500. It’s great money but it’s a long way short of the MoneyLaw £144k — over £60,000 short in fact! By way of context, £60,000 is the salary of an NQ at Withers, one of London’s most prestigious private client firms. To rub salt in the wounds, MoneyLaw NQs are eligible for an additional $5,000 bonus on top of their basic $190,000. Are these widening pay differences sustainable? The post Magic circle duo join the MoneyLaw madness appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2018/06/magic-circle-duo-join-the-moneylaw-madness/ Knights to recruit 200 more fee earners but remains silent on possible training contract increases The admission to the stock market of a regional top 100 law firm came into effect this morning. Knights, whose flotation on the AIM submarket of the London Stock Exchange follows hot on the heels of Gordon Dadds and Keystone Law doing the same thing, has raised £50 million from the initial public offering (IPO) it announced at the start of June. It begins the day valued at £103.5 million. The firm, which has offices in regional locations across England, has stated in its listing documents that it intends to use some of the proceeds of the IPO to recruit 200 more fee earners, on top of its existing 350. But a hefty £20 million will go to the four selling shareholders: Joanne and Mark Beech (the wife and brother of Knights boss David Beech), Knights partner Karl Bamford, and non-executive chairman Bal Johal, the managing partnetr of private equity firm MML Capital Partners. Knights remains 45.5% owned by David Beech, with 48.2% of shares in the free market and a further small portion held by other management. In this form, it has pledged to complete at least three acquisitions by April 2020. But there is no indication that the full-service firm is preparing to up its rookie lawyer numbers. Knights has approximately six trainees currently, and has not responded to Legal Cheek‘s request for comment about whether this figure will rise. The acquisitive firm has seen incredible levels of growth under the stewardship of Beech, and particularly since James Caan of Dragon’s Den fame became involved in the firm through his private equity company, Hamilton Bradshaw, in 2012. Since then, Knights has seen its revenue grow from £8 million in 2012 to £35 million in 2017. Its listing value of £103.5 million beats Gateleys’ £100 million, the first English firm to float in 2015. Only this month, Knights has increased from six to seven offices with a recent acquisition of Turner Parkinson, a Manchester-based firm, Knights thus gaining 63 additional staff overnight. Knights is positioned as a modern, corporate-style law firm, having been an early convert to the alternative business structure; partners are not ‘partners’ in the firm but employees, and management is carried out by non-lawyers. It has also significantly rationalised its non-fee earning staff, distancing itself from more traditional firms where: “in the opinion of the Directors, with partners or senior fee earners feeling morally obliged or comforted by having a long-term personal assistant dedicated to them and their files.” Knights says that now fee earners will take “greater ownership over their work.” The post Share dealing begins in stock market-listed law firm appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2018/06/share-dealing-begins-in-stock-market-listed-law-firm/
Ed Sheeran is facing a $100 million lawsuit that alleges the singer-songwriter copied Marvin Gaye's 1973 hit "Let's Get It On" on his 2014 song "Thinking Out Loud," TMZ reported. The suit was filed by Structured Asset Sales, a company that owns one-third of the copyright to "Let's Get It On." "According to the lawsuit, Sheeran's song has the same melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bassline, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation and looping as 'Let's Get it On,'" TMZ reported. Sheeran was also sued over "Thinking Out Loud" in 2016. The family of Ed Townsend, a cowriter on Gaye's "Let's Get It On," sued Sheeran, arguing that "Thinking Out Loud" lifted the melody, harmony, and other rhythmic components from Gaye's track. Sheeran responded to the 2016 suit in documents obtained by TMZ last week. He reportedly claimed that the chord progressions and drum patterns of both songs are "extremely commonplace," and that similar elements in "Let's Get It On" are in the public domain and unprotectable. "Thinking Out Loud" peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2014 and has been certified "diamond" by the RIAA for streaming-equivalent sales of over 10 million copies. "Let's Get It On" topped the Billboard singles chart in 1973 and is certified platinum by the RIAA. Sheeran's representatives have not responded to a request for comment from Business Insider on the latest suit. Listen to "Let's Get It On" and "Thinking Out Loud" below: SEE ALSO: The 50 best-selling music artists of all time Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 5 science facts that 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' totally ignored from http://www.businessinsider.com/ed-sheeran-sued-for-100-million-for-allegedly-copying-marvin-gaye-lets-get-it-on-2018-6 Employment and discrimination specialist Robin White shares her story It was her own personal experiences in the workplace that persuaded Robin White to abandon a managerial post to pursue a career in the law. Speaking to Child & Child solicitor Kevin Poulter in the latest episode of The Hearing podcast, White discusses her career switch from management to law, and her — perhaps more dramatic — transition from male to female. White, now a barrister at Old Square Chambers in London specialising in transgender rights, had originally studied chemistry at Imperial University and went on to work in British Petroleum’s research facility. While there, White quickly realised she was a “people person” rather than a scientist, and progressed into a managerial role (in transport) where she felt she could put her people skills to good use. But suffering personal discrimination there at a time when transgender people were afforded little in the way of legal protection led White to the law. The barrister-to-be followed her new legal path by studying law at the University of Exeter, where just three weeks into her degree, “you could spot the ten would-be barristers among the 100 law students because they were the ones who would be arguing with the lecturer”. After completing bar school (and a brief stint working as a legal clerk) White commenced pupillage at London’s Devereux Chambers under the supervision of Sir David Bean, now an appeal court judge. Turing to her personal life, White explains how it wasn’t until 2011 that she decided to transition from male to female. She puts the delay down to being six feet tall and “not slimly built” and her concerns that, without breakthrough advances in surgery, she wouldn’t transition in a way that she’d be happy with. Reflecting on her time at the bar, White insists it isn’t all “pale, male and stale”, and that she’s never encountered any problems in robing rooms. She does believe, however, that though there are three transgender barristers at the bar, more can be done for transgender people in the workplace. You can hear more about White’s life and transgender issues in the workplace in The Hearing podcast. Listen to the podcast above or download it for free on iTunes, SoundCloud and Spotify The post The Hearing Podcast: My life as a transgender barrister appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2018/06/the-hearing-podcast-my-life-as-a-transgender-barrister/ A former Pixar employee wrote a scathing column criticizing the company's culture of 'open sexism'6/28/2018
A former Pixar employee has written a column for Variety criticizing the "open sexism" of the film company's corporate environment under the leadership of Pixar cofounder and former chief John Lasseter. Disney announced earlier this month that Lasseter would depart the company at the end of this year. Lasseter took a six-month sabbatical in November shortly after The Hollywood Reporter published a report on allegations of Lasseter's inappropriate workplace behavior with his employees, which included "grabbing, kissing, [and] making comments about physical attributes." In her column for Variety, Cassandra Smolcic, a former graphic designer at Pixar, said that Lasseter's "open sexism" had the effect of "emboldening others to act like frat boys in just about any campus setting" at the company. Smolcic wrote that she personally experienced sexual harassment over her five years of employment with Pixar, from Lasseter, her unnamed former department head, and other men at the company. She said her harassment included "many unwelcome, objectifying interactions" and a physical groping from one male coworker. "Just after starting on 'Cars 2,' I was told by a superior that I would be uninvited from all our weekly art department meetings because Lasseter 'has a hard time controlling himself' around young women," Smolcic wrote. Smolcic described how "management teams across the studio were well known for cleaning up the messes of powerful male superiors, regardless of their poor behavior or challenging leadership styles," while Pixar's "few female leads lacked backing and basic respect from the institution and the masses." Smolcic said she left the company at 30 after being "physically and mentally burnt out after years of bumping up against the glass ceiling" at the company. Smolcic closed her column by praising Pixar's decision to move forward with Jennifer Lee and Pete Docter as chief creative officers at Disney Animation and Pixar, respectively. "But dismantling John’s legacy will take more than just replacing a single executive, because such deeply ingrained biases require deliberate, conscientious effort to identify and dismantle. Disney and Pixar must recognize that women and underrepresented minorities are just as capable, talented, complex, and dimensional as the white fraternity of men who have monopolized animation thus far," she wrote. Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on the matter. Read Smolcic's full column at Variety. SEE ALSO: The co-founder of Pixar is leaving Disney, months after allegations of inappropriate behavior Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: This glassblowing master sculpts incredibly realistic animals out of glass from http://www.businessinsider.com/former-pixar-employee-column-criticizing-company-culture-of-open-sexism-2018-6 Good times return to the City It’s corporate law firm financial results season — and the early signs for the year are very positive. Of the 12 major corporate law firms to have released their results so far, all have posted a rise in revenue while those that released profit per equity partner (PEP) figures have reported increases too. Leading the way in the revenue rise table is CMS, with a whopping 31% increase to £1.3 billion, followed by Fieldfisher, which is up 24% to £207 million, and Dentons UKMEA, up by 22% to £203.1 million. While these turnover boosts have been significantly aided by mergers — CMS with Nabarro and Olswang, Fieldfisher with Hill Hofstetter, and Dentons with Maclay Murray & Spens — the performance of other firms suggests the increases are about more than that. Osborne Clarke, for example, has seen revenue jump by 14%, while Simmons & Simmons and Taylor Wessing are both up by 12%. Meanwhile, TLT, Browne Jacobson, Winckworth Sherwood, Pinsent Masons and Ashurst have seen turnover rises of, respectively, 10%, 9%, 8.5%, 6% and 4%. The strongest performers for PEP increases so far have been Dentons, with a 36% jump to £651,000, Taylor Wessing, which rocketed by 20% to £579,000. There were impressive increases, too, at CMS (19%), Fieldfisher (17%), Eversheds Sutherland (12%) and Ashurst (11%). The figures reflect the wave of growth that swept across the globe during 2017, and which the President Trump tax cuts at the beginning of this year may extend — if the accompanying protectionist policies being pursued by the US don’t negate their effect. But the improvement of law firms’ overall fortunes come at a time of uncertainty for students seeking to enter the legal profession. Legal Cheek reported in the autumn that training contracts at the leading corporate law firms fell by 5% last year, while the latest Law Society Annual Statistical Report showed training contract numbers across the profession as a whole to have fallen back slightly. On the rise have been law firm investment in technology, and a growing reluctance among clients to pay for trainees’ time. Still, with 5,719 students beginning training contracts last year — down from a 2008 high of 6,303 but up from a financial crisis low of 4,784 — the legal profession remains a pretty healthy place for graduates. The post The first set of corporate law firm financial results are looking strong appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2018/06/the-first-set-of-corporate-law-firm-financial-results-are-looking-strong/ Reduced levels of pay blamed for lower morale and standards, finds report Two-thirds of judges believe the quality of advocacy in criminal courts has DECLINED over time, a report published this week has found. Though the overall quality was found to be “very good”, there was much judicial “concern” over standards in two areas in particular: first, advocates’ case preparation and, second, their ability to ask focused questions of the witnesses and defendants. Not surprisingly, the Judicial Perceptions Report highlighted that more than half of the interviewees believe that declining levels of pay in criminal advocacy, and “associated” lowering of morale, have a “negative impact” on the quality of advocacy. Specifically, judges are worried that the best lawyers quit criminal work and move onto civil cases to improve their chances of earning a decent living. For those brave enough to pursue the criminal bar, the report gives an excellent analysis of what makes a “good advocate” (at least according to the former-advocates-now-judges interviewed). The skills needed appear to be: communication, focus and presentation. Or as one judge put it: “Your starting point is not really when people open their mouths in court; it’s what goes on before getting into court”. Another said:
The report, jointly commissioned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Bar Standards Board (BSB), was put together by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research of Birkbeck, University of London and involved in-depth interviews with 50 high court and circuit judges. Explaining why the report was commissioned and why good advocates are so important, the regulators’ state: “Through their professional knowledge, courtroom skills and experience, advocates not only directly support the individuals they represent, but also ensure the continuing effective operation of the legal system and ongoing public confidence in the rule of law and the courts system.” This is particularly the case in the light of the Government’s recent round of changes in the justice system which is likely to involve 2,500 fewer court staff. The post Advocates’ core courtroom skills on the decline, judges warn appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2018/06/advocates-core-courtroom-skills-on-the-decline-judges-warn/ Charlotte McGing joins vlogging lawyer trend A recent law graduate whose Allen & Overy vac scheme led to a training contract has taken to YouTube to share her tips and advice. Charlotte McGing completed a vac scheme at the magic circle outfit in December 2016 and will begin her training contract in March 2019. Speaking to Legal Cheek, she says she made the video to help out incoming summer vac scheme students. The University of Warwick graduate continues:
Soon-to-be Legal Practice Course (LPC) student McGing gives her advice as five key tips. These include taking “extensive notes” during the work placement and asking for help if you need it. Her bonus tip is to go easy on the alcohol: “This is not a night out with your friends”, she says of vac scheme social events. McGing’s video, which you can watch in full below, focuses on her “phenomenal” week-long winter vac scheme at Allen & Overy, during which she sat in the firm’s competition department. She has also completed work experience placements at the likes of Berwin Leighton Paisner (now Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner) and Handelsbanken. McGing is far from the first YouTubeing lawyer. Chrissie Wolfe, a solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, runs a vlogging channel called Law and Broader which is “aimed at law students or anyone trying to break into the legal profession who is interested in improving their employability”. Wolfe’s ten-minute clips cover everything from law fairs to effective time management. Also YouTubeing is University of York law student Ludo Lugnani, whose daily videos give viewers a quick-fire commercial awareness update. Lugnani is seeking a training contract, and says making the videos helps him keep on top of current affairs. But who says lawyers have to vlog about law? Katherine Baker, a law student at Durham University, runs a YouTube channel called BeuatyByKat08, which covers topics such as fitness and life advice. Baker, whose channel has almost 30,000 subscribers, will be commencing a training contract at Fried Frank in 2019. The post YouTube-ing Warwick law grad whose Allen & Overy vac scheme led to a training contract shares career advice appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2018/06/youtube-ing-warwick-law-grad-whose-allen-overy-vac-scheme-led-to-a-training-contract-shares-career-advice/ |
AuthorHi I am Alana Smith 35 years old living in New York. I am working as an assistant in local law office. I like to share legal news with people to educate them. Archives
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