Ben Thomson – Page 7

The Great Law Firm Rebellion Sees Young Associates Stage Unprecedented Exodus Over Trump Deals

Big Law, Headlining, US Law / April 3, 2025

In the marble-lined corridors of legal power, a rebellion is brewing over the ‘Trump deals’ being made by biglaw firms targeted by the administration in recent weeks.

Associates at two of America’s most prestigious law firms are doing what many might have thought to have been the unthinkable—resigning from coveted positions that pay north of $220,000 annually to protest their firms’ Faustian bargains with President Trump, marking perhaps the most significant crisis of conscience Big Law has faced in a generation.

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Skadden Coughs Up $100M to Avoid Executive Order Hammer

Big Law, US Law / March 31, 2025

It’s Trump, Not AI Threatening These Lawyers Ben Thomson, LawFuel contributing editor Skadden has cut a $100 million deal with the Trump administration to avoid becoming the next law firm target of presidential wrath. The firm preemptively approached the White House after learning they were in the crosshairs of a potential executive order, opting to

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700+ Attorneys Unite Against Trump’s Law Firm Crackdown

Big Law, Headlining, US Law / March 30, 2025

The Trump Crackdown on Law Firms Meets Resistance Ben Thomson, Legal contributing editor US lawyers have rallied in an unprecedented show of unity, with over 700 attorneys and legal organizations across the political spectrum joining forces to write to US Attorney General Pam Bondi urging her to take a stand in defense of lawyers’ and

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Why Trump’s Attack on Elite Firms Is Particularly Savage for Paul Weiss

Big Law, UK Law / March 20, 2025

The Paul Weiss ‘Inflection Point’ Ben Thomson, LawFuel contributor Vivia Chen’s latest column at her blog ‘The Ex-Careerist’ on substack delivers a sharp critique of Donald Trump’s escalating attacks on major law firms, with Paul Weiss being his third target. This pattern of retaliation has reached what Chen calls “an inflection point,” as Trump’s executive

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Trump vs. Big Law And The Icy Fear He Has Given Big Law

Headlining, US Law / March 12, 2025

Trump’s Icy Law Firm Crackdown Ben Thomson, Lawfuel contributing editor Any law firm representing someone Donald Trump doesn’t like might cost your firm its government contracts in the US, after the administration launched a ferocious, two-pronged assault on major law firms through executive orders that should make every attorney pay attention – regardless of political

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The Latest (almost) $3 Billion Law Firm

Big Law, Headlining / March 7, 2025

Let’s cut through the corporate jargon: Hogan Lovells isn’t just “growing” – it’s latest results show the firm is scaling with surgical precision having just posted a $2.965B revenue haul for 2024, a near 9 percent jump that brings it within spitting distance of the elusive $3B mark.

The news was dropped by the firm in their March 6 release that we have here.

For context, that’s up 23 percent from 2023’s $2.7B. More telling? PEP hit $3.07M (up 12 percent while RPL nudged to $1.097M.

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Elon Musk’s Legal Ace Hits $3K/Hour in Landmark Legal Fee Benchmark

Headlining, US Law / March 4, 2025

Alex Spiro, the go-to litigator for Elon Musk and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, now bills clients $3,000 per hour—a figure cementing his status among Manhattan’s most expensive lawyers. Or in fact any US lawyers.

At Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Spiro and global co-managing partner William Burck lead a pricing tier that reflects the fast-growing climb of premium legal services across the US, with firm partners charging between $1,860 and $3,000 hourly.

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The Rise of Australia’s Leading Media Barrister, Sue Chrysanthou

Australia Law News, Featured, LawStars / February 26, 2025

In what feels like the final chapter of television’s longest-running legal drama, Australia’s Channel Ten has now agreed to pay journalist Lisa Wilkinson $1.15 million to cover her legal expenses from the Bruce Lehrmann defamation saga.

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Are BigLaw Fees Outpacing Reality?

Big Law, Headlining / February 25, 2025

Billing rates at Big Law continue to soar, leaving even the most jaded GCs with a touch of vertigo. But as we navigate the choppy waters of 2025 – complete with AI fever dreams, inflation headaches, and a freshly minted administration in D.C. the question remains as to how long this ever-rising move can continue?

It doesn’t seem that long ago when hitting $1,000 an hour felt audacious.

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Linklaters AI Assistants Move From Failing Grade to Passing Mark

Featured, Law Firms, UK Law / February 18, 2025

Linklaters Puts Robot Lawyers to the Legal Test Ben Thomson, Legal affairs writer Magic Circle firm Linklaters puts AI through rigorous legal exams – and the results might surprise you. In a bold experiment that reads like science fiction but is very much our present reality, Magic Circle firm Linklaters has been subjecting artificial intelligence

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