Ben Thomson

Trump DOJ Subpoenas 14 Big Law Firms in ABA ‘Intimidation’ Fight

Headlining, Law Firms, US Law /
Trump subpoena

Justice Department demands records and depositions from firms that settled and those that fought Trump executive orders, reviving questions over executive power, privilege and law firm independence The U.S. Justice Department has subpoenaed 14 major law firms as part of its response to an ABA lawsuit challenging Trump‑era executive orders and alleged intimidation of the

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The Great BigLaw Heist. How Private Equity Is Buying Law Firms Through the Back Door

Briefings, Law Firms, US Law /
Lawfirm privateequity

Private equity can’t own a US law firm. So it bought everything else — and 2026 is the year the profession worked out that this was not a hypothetical. Ben Thomson, LawFuel contributing editor For decades the answer to “can outside investors own a piece of your law firm?” was a flat no, and the

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Norm Ai’s $1.2B Legal AI Gambit AsThe First True AI‑Native Law Firm Comes For Big Law’s Billable Hour

Featured, Law Firms, Legal AI, US Law /
Johnnay normlaw

Ben Thomson, LawFuel contributing editor Norm Ai’s latest funding round does more than crown the New York‑based startup as a $1.2 billion legal tech unicorn but displays full‑stack model for delivering complex legal work that sits very close to Big Law’s core business. The legal AI ‘infrastructure provider’, founded by John Nay (pictured), sits with

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Australia’s First $10 Million Law Partner? The Race Is On

Australia Law News, Big Law, Big Law Salary Scale, Briefings, Featured, Law Firm Management, Power Briefs /
Australia lawyer earnings

Australia is on the cusp of producing its first A$10 million‑a‑year law firm partner – and the smart money says that partner will sit at Corrs Chambers Westgarth or Gilbert + Tobin, according to a legal journalist who should know.

Veteran legal affairs journalist Michael Pelly made the claim in his Capital Brief’s Prima Facie newsletter, reporting that Australian legal partner earnings at the very top of the market have accelerated sharply since the pandemic, driven by fierce competition for rainmakers and a sustained boom in high‑value corporate work.
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Sidley Raids Clifford Chance for Five-Partner US Finance & Tax Team

Big Law, Power Briefs, Press Releases, US Law /
Yvette Ostolaza on LawFuel - Appointed to Sidley role

Sidley Austin has deepened its raid on Magic Circle rival Clifford Chance, hiring a five-partner finance and tax team in New York and Washington, D.C., to bulk up its global finance and tax platforms. The group is led by former Clifford Chance US global financial markets co-head Lee Askenazi, alongside finance partners Alistair Dunlop, Rebecca

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Inside the $5.8 Million Clifford Chance Clawback And The Brutal New Reality of Big Law’s Lateral Wars

Featured, Law Firm Salary Scale, US Law /
Cliffordchance lawfuel

The glittering promises of the Big Law lateral market have hit a multi-million dollar roadblock with the Clifford Chance legal battle that pulls back the curtain on the closely guarded mechanics behind biglaw partnership agreements.

Clifford Chance, a lucrative biglaw firm providing rich partner rewards, is aggressively pursuing millions of dollars in compensation clawbacks from two of its former top US partners.

Just two months after stepping down, Clifford Chance’s former global managing partner, Charles Adams, delivered a financial bombshell via mail to Andrew Cone and Michael Sabin the former co-heads of the firm’s US-based funds and investment management practice.

The letters outlined a massive financial hit . . Log in to read more . .

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Kirkland Wins Again As BigLaw’s M&A Machine Has Its Best Six Months Since Records Began

Big Law, Featured, Press Releases, US Law /
Kirkland&ellis

Kirkland & Ellis leads the M&A rankings as the Chicago-founded firm advised on 350 deals worth close to $474.5 billion in the first half of 2026, being a comfortable 18% ahead of second-placed Skadden’s $402.8 billion across just 105 deals, according to LSEG data. All of which points once again to why Kirklands continue to reign supreme in partner remuneration.

Sullivan & Cromwell, which had briefly held the top spot in Q1, slipped to third with $395 billion. Wachtell Lipton rounded out the top four at $367.7 billion.
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Is Addleshaw Goddard’s the UK’s Next Global Elite Contender?”

Law Firms, Power Briefs, Power Firms, UK Law /
Andrew johnston at lothbury

How Addleshaw Goddard Turned Nine Years of Growth into a £1.1m PEP Story Ben Thomson, LawFuel contributing editor Addleshaw Goddard has dropped another set of headline‑grabbing numbers, posting 17% growth in both revenue and profit and pushing partner profits to £1.1 million for the year to 30 April 2026. It’s the firm’s ninth consecutive year

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Sidley Just Made 52 Partners Showing The Salaried Tier Is BigLaw’s New Default

Power Firms, UK Law /
Sidley talent

On 2 June 2026, Sidley elected 52 new partners. That is up 79% from its December 2025 class of 29 and reportedly the first and only summer round the firm intends to run. Sidley is the eleventh elite firm to create a salaried partner role since Cravath broke the seal in November 2023. The list

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SpaceX’s $75 Billion Liftoff – Meet the Lawyers Steering History’s Biggest IPO

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SpaceXfloat

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is steering SpaceX through what has become the largest stock market debut ever, while Davis Polk & Wardwell is guiding the underwriting banks led by Goldman Sachs. Reports from Bloomberg indicate that SpaceX has committed to $25.5 million in legal costs in its amended S-1 — a figure that dwarfs the typical IPO legal spend, though it’s broadly in line with what other mega-deals have paid out.

For context, the largest US IPO of 2025, Medline’s $6.3 billion listing advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, generated $25.2 million in legal fees and expenses, while Cerebras Systems’ $5.5 billion IPO, handled by Latham & Watkins, racked up $4.1 million.

SpaceX’s number sits almost exactly where Medline landed except SpaceX is aiming for a deal roughly twelve times the size.

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