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.
The Cravath model—characterized by selective hiring, intensive associate training, lockstep compensation, and extraordinary attention to detail—has created an elite club with membership requirements few can meet. The model thrives on focus. The firm maintains a relatively small footprint with offices only in New York, Washington DC, and London.
The Cravath Effect And Why Every Law Firm Wants to Be Them (But Few Can) Read More »
The Big Law China Departures Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is shutting down its Beijing office by July 2025, marking another high-profile exit from mainland China by a top US law firm. Cleary’s departure from China follows a growing trend of Western legal giants scaling back their Chinese operations amid geopolitical tensions, economic cooling, and
President Donald Trump has enlisted Manhattan’s prestigious Sullivan & Cromwell to lead the appeal of his criminal conviction in the New York hush money case, marking a strategic shift in his legal defense. The firm’s co-chair, Robert Giuffra—a former Supreme Court clerk and one-time Trump attorney general contender—will spearhead the effort alongside four other former
The Big Law Firm To Handle Donald Trump’s Hush Money Conviction Read More »
Is a $2 Billion Megafirm at Stake? As Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel prepare for a pivotal partner vote this month on their transatlantic merger, newly filed accounts reveal HSF’s U.S. operations posted a combined $11.2 million loss over 2023-2024. But with the creation of a $2B revenue legal titan
HSF-Kramer Levin Merger Vote Looms as U.S. Losses Hit $11M Over Two Years Read More »
Freshfields’ Partners Take Home Millions – But Profits Are Down Freshfields hit a bit of a bump in the road, generating £2 billion in revenue last year but with a profit drop of 8 percent. They ended up with about £665 million in profit before taxes, down from £725 million the year before. Their profit
Linklaters’ US Growth Continues Linklaters has made a significant move in the US market hiring four litigation partners in New York, continuing the trend of British-based firms expanding their presence in America. Adeel Mangi, Muhammad Faridi, Diana Conner, and George LoBiondo have joined Linklaters from Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, a New York litigation boutique.
A new conservative law firm involving Musk-related lawyers, Lex Politica, has emerged on the Washington scene, combining lawyers with ties to prominent Republican figures and causes. The firm’s founding partners include Chris Gober, (above, middle and below pictured with Karen Oaks (left) and Anna Mackin (right). Gober was a lawyer for Elon Musk’s America PAC,
Musk Lawyers’ Law Firm Promises to Shake Up Washington’s Power Game Read More »
Trump’s Big Win Against Meta Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay President Trump $25 million to settle his 2021 lawsuit, which Trump filed against Meta and other tech companies, claimed he had been unfairly censored on their platforms. The settlement marks a significant concession from Meta and is a
Meta’s Massive Payout to Trump: Is This the End of Social Media Censorship? Read More »
Law Firms Go Big or Go Home Tom Borman, LawFuel contributing editor The legal scene in 2025 has commenced with a wave of law firm mergers involving at least six combinations of Am Law 100 law firms that became effective in January 2025 and which promise further changes ahead for the new year. The most-searched
New Year, New Firms As 2025 Kicks Off with Lawyer Love Affairs Read More »
