Stories making recent headlines on LawFuel . .
- Luxury Expenses Claims Dog Pogust Goodhead
Private jets, yachts and lavish spending are some of the claims against Thomas Goodhead, co-founder of Pogust Goodhead who is now at the center of one of the most significant governance crises in modern UK law firm litigation, according to a Times report. Pogust Goodhead (former SPG Law) secured a £450 million debt facility and is now seeing its co-founder CEO ousted before its headline case reaches judgment. Thomas Goodhead co-founded Pogust Goodhead with U.S. class action veteran Harris Pogust, propelling the firm into the big league in 2023 when it secured a reported £450 million investment . . . log in to read more - Etiquette 101 for Kirkland & Ellis – How to Say Please
Kirkland & Ellis and the Fine Art of Saying Sorry Without Saying Sorry Norma Harris, LawFuel contributor The planet’s most profitable law firm, Kirkland and Ellis, has decided its famously steely negotiation style could do with a coat of polish. The firm, long the darling (and occasional demon) of private equity clients, apparently received the clearest… Read more: Etiquette 101 for Kirkland & Ellis – How to Say Please - What’s Behind The BigLaw Litigation Hiring Surge?
The masters of the M&A universe are discovering what the rest of us have known all along – that litigation pays, and it doesn’t evaporate when the dealmakers take a sabbatical. Fresh data from Bloomberg Law reveals that some of the legal industry’s most ludicrously profitable firms, the ones that built fortunes advising private equity titans, are now scrambling to stockpile litigators like they’re preparing for the apocalypse. Four heavyweights – Kirkland & Ellis, Paul Weiss, Davis Polk, and Paul Hastings – have inflated their litigation benches by at least 22 percnt since early 2024. It is noteworthy that these are firms that climbed to the top of the profitability charts primarily by perfecting the art of billing seven figures for corporate transactions, not courtroom combat. - Targeting Rich UK Lawyers in New “Lawyer Tax”
UK Chancellor Reeves Aims Her Sights on Lawyers & Others Ben Borman, LawFuel contributing editor UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves is eyeing roughly £2 billion a year by slapping employer-style National Insurance contributions (NICs) on members of LLPs, that’s lawyers, accountants and anyone else who looks suspiciously well-remunerated. Under the current regime, LLP members are taxed… Read more: Targeting Rich UK Lawyers in New “Lawyer Tax” - How Virginia Giuffre’s Litigation Strategy Changed the Legal Landscape for Sex Trafficking Survivors
The Virginia Giuffre Legal Legacy Sonia Hickey, LawFuel contributing editor Virginia Giuffre died in April 2025. Her memoir, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, is published this week and lands alongside major, live legal issues: the Second Circuit’s unsealing guidance in the Maxwell defamation docket, the continuing political headache over… Read more: How Virginia Giuffre’s Litigation Strategy Changed the Legal Landscape for Sex Trafficking Survivors - Steve Witkoff’s Career From Lawyer to Billionaire to Peace Dealmaker
The Stunning Steve Witkoff Career Moves Ben Thomson, LawFuel contributing editor Before Steve Witkoff became a commanding presence in international real estate, and an unlikely Middle East diplomat, he was doing what thousands of law graduates do: practicing law at a New York firm, navigating contracts, and learning the intricate mechanics of deal-making. But Witkoff,… Read more: Steve Witkoff’s Career From Lawyer to Billionaire to Peace Dealmaker - Why Is The World’s Richest Law Firm So Quiet About Its New Partners?
The Silence of the Partners Tom Borman, LawFuel contributing editor Kirkland & Ellis, the world’s top-grossing law firm, is playing it close to the vest again, this time with its new partner class. Being loud does not pay like discretion, apparently. As reported by AboveTheLaw, the firm has yet to formally announce or publicly list… Read more: Why Is The World’s Richest Law Firm So Quiet About Its New Partners? - Investors Back Plaintiff Side Legal AI with Fresh Cash
Media reports show a new funding surge for plaintiff side legal AI with EvenUp and Eve raising rounds that put both firms at or above the billion mark. EvenUp closed one hundred and fifty million and says most new revenue comes from AI products for demand letters and prep, Reuters report. Eve raised over one… Read more: Investors Back Plaintiff Side Legal AI with Fresh Cash - Mueller Investigation Attorney Michael Bowe Co-Founds Litigation Boutique Law Firm
Piper Rudnick Pair Launch Law Boutique Tom Borman, LawFuel contributing editor Two profile trial attorneys, including the Trump lawyer who was involved in working for Trump during the Mueller investigation, have officially launched Brithem LLP, marking a significant entry into New York’s competitive boutique law firm market. Michael Bowe and Lauren Tabaksblat, former co-chairs of… Read more: Mueller Investigation Attorney Michael Bowe Co-Founds Litigation Boutique Law Firm - Harvey’s CEO says junior lawyers still matter in the AI era
The Role of Junior Lawyers in the Age of AI Norma Harris, LawFuel contributor Business Insider reports that Harvey’s chief executive Winston Weinberg, himeelf not long out of the junior lawyer blocks, told TechLaw Fest that junior lawyers remain central to the future of legal work as AI changes training and tasking. Business Insider The… Read more: Harvey’s CEO says junior lawyers still matter in the AI era - Washington Tests Non-Lawyer Legal Services. Arizona Smirks. Utah Says Welcome To The Club
Tom Borman, LawFuel contributing editor Washington is moving from tut-tutting to testing. The state’s high court approved a time-limited pilot so entities can apply to deliver legal services under non-traditional models. Think regulated programs for firms, nonprofits and legal techs that want to use different ownership structures and more automation. The point is not to… Read more: Washington Tests Non-Lawyer Legal Services. Arizona Smirks. Utah Says Welcome To The Club - What Does The Forbes 2025 Top Lawyers List Tell Us About The State of the Law Business?
Takeaways from Forbes’ 2025 Top Lawyers List Ben Thomson, LawFuel contributing editor Forbes’ 2025 edition of America’s Top Lawyers came out last week and once again showed the changing nature of law in the US. The List, which premiered last year you may recall, focuses on “private practice attorneys” who have distinguished themselves through trial… Read more: What Does The Forbes 2025 Top Lawyers List Tell Us About The State of the Law Business?