The Thomson Reuters 2026 State of the New Zealand Legal Market report delivers the best financial news the sector has had in years. But the most important material isn’t always in the headline figures. Read between the lines and five standout findings emerge — each one with real consequences for how NZ law firms compete, […]
NZ Legal Market 2026: Five Findings Law Firms Can’t Ignore Read More »
For New Zealand law firms, the past four years have been a masterclass in resilience — navigating a pandemic-cratered market, a brutal war for talent, expense blowouts, and an economy that spent much of 2023 and 2024 in recession, all while clients demanded more and paid less willingly. That grinding period of strategic discipline has
NZ Law Firms’ Best Year Since Before COVID — And The Five Threats That Could End It Read More »
The job cuts that sent 700 Baker McKenzie employees home in February has sent major ripples around law firms everywhere. The cuts, affecting less than 10% of Baker McKenzie’s total support workforce, touched nearly every non-lawyer function across every office. This is the kind of story that makes managing partners and chief operating officers sit
Why Baker McKenzie’s Major Job Cuts Send Shivvers Down Lawyers’ Spines Read More »
Every law firm wants to mark International Women’s Day thoughtfully — but sometimes the gesture lands like a lead balloon. Offshore powerhouse Harneys made headlines of all the wrong kind when managing partner Ian Mann announced on LinkedIn that the firm had shipped pastel-pink Toffy ice-cream makers branded with the Harneys logo and the cheeky
The Law Firm’s Red Faces Over Pink Ice-Cream Maker Women’s Day Outrage Read More »
The numbers don’t lie — and right now they’re lighting up the insolvency and restructuring sector like a Christmas tree.
New data confirms 2,867 companies entered liquidation in 2025 — the highest annual total since 2010 and the fourth-highest in 25 years.
Centrix puts the figure at 2,934, while broader formal appointments (liquidations + receiverships + voluntary administrations) reached 3,080–3,132 — up 11–12% on 2024 and the highest level since the Global Financial Crisis.
NZ Liquidations Hit 15-Year High as IRD Crackdown Triggers Insolvency Boom for Law Firms Read More »
The dockets don’t lie and right now they’re screaming “opportunity” at every employment practice in America, according to a recent report. According to Lex Machina’s just-dropped 2026 Employment Litigation Report, plaintiffs slammed federal courts with 26,635 employment lawsuits in 2025, which is the highest volume since 2018 and a crisp 10% jump from 2024. The
Federal Employment Litigation Explodes to 7-Year High as Disability Claims Surge 42% Read More »
The legal profession has survived recessions, regulatory upheavals and the occasional partner meltdown. But the next threat to BigLaw’s favourite revenue model may come from something far less dramatic.
A machine that reads faster than any associate and which could spell the end of the infamous ‘billable hour’, which has been touted as being in its end time for some time.
According to Jeff Bleich, general counsel at AI company Anthropic, (pictured) the traditional billable hour could soon be on borrowed time.
Is This The Billable Hour’s Last Stand? Anthropic’s Top Lawyer Thinks So Read More »
LawFuel Staff Big Law partners and in-house counsel, take note: the rules governing attorney discipline are shifting fast under the current administration, prompting some intense online reaction. In a move that’s sparking fierce debate across social media channels, the Trump Justice Department has floated a new regulation that would let the Attorney General step in
Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer is adopting Legora as its firmwide general-purpose AI platform, marking a significant step in the firm’s investment in innovation and technology‑enabled legal services. Legora will act as an “intelligent legal colleague”. It supports smarter drafting and interaction with documents, insights generation, data analysis, summarisation and translation, enabling
Legal AI – Herbert Smith Partners with Legora as “Intelligent Legal Colleague” Read More »
Tom Borman, lawFuel Contributing Editor Taylor Rose has become the first UK law firm to push its consultant platform through the 1,000‑lawyer ceiling, underlining just how fast the fee‑share model is eating into the traditional partnership franchise. The national firm, part of the AIIC Group, now sits on more than 1,000 consultant solicitors across its
Taylor Rose’s 1,000‑Lawyer Milestone: Has the Consultant Model Finally Gone Mainstream? Read More »
