BigLaw Pay vs Boutique Pay Scale Sonia Hickey The boutiques are once again teaching BigLaw a lesson in how to spend money on associates with New York boutique Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider, a New York-founded antitrust and litigation shop, is dishing out special bonuses of $10,000 to $25,000, payable by 15 July, per a 23
Axinn’s Boutique Offers $25,000 Bonuses While BigLaw Plays Catch-Up Read More »
When the Crown finds itself steering through politically radioactive terrain, the playbook remains remarkably consistent: call in the legal adults in the room to sort the wheat from the political and bureaucratic chaff. When doing so, the government is fishing in a relatively shallow pool, but the go to operators remain consistently capable of rising
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
Sidley Just Made 52 Partners Showing The Salaried Tier Is BigLaw’s New Default Read More »
Samantha Wellington, eBay’s senior vice president and chief legal officer, thinks the profession is panicking about the wrong people. AI will not gut the graduate ranks, she argues, because the AI-native juniors are the ones teaching firms how to rebuild their workflows. The lawyers who should be nervous are the mid-career middle managers, and anyone
AI Won’t Hollow Out the Graduates, Says eBay’s Legal Chief Read More »
Changing the traditional law firm model is generating a lot of talk these days, but what can change for law firms when they seriously alter the model can turn a moribund operation into something like a high-growth startup. All of which is what happened with Olliers Solicitors in the UK, which went from £2m to a massive £6.5m in annual fee income.
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The ‘Year Zero’ Pivot That Tripled This Law Firm’s Revenue Read More »
Legal technology startup Turbo Law has secured USD 3.8 million in seed funding as investors continue to back AI tools built specifically for complex defence litigation and insurance work. The round was led by Revo Capital, with participation from existing backers Treeo VC, BridgeX Ventures, Alchemist Accelerator, prominent technology executive Gokul Rajaram, and a cohort
Turbo Law’s USD 3.8m Raise Signals Next Wave of AI Defence Litigation Tools Read More »
A New Zealand offshore trust firm is capitalising on litigation-fearful US doctors who are moving funds into protective structures. Southpac Group says new client numbers rose more than 290% between 2022 and 2025, with the US now accounting for around 85% of its client base. The growth follows new US research showing almost 60% of
Rising Litigation Concerns for US Doctors Sees New Zealand Trust Group Expand Read More »
Tom Borman, LawFuel contributing editor The confirmation of Justin Smith to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a major moment in Donald Trump’s second‑term judicial strategy. The Senate voted along party lines to hand Smith a lifetime seat on a key federal appeals court that covers seven states. To much
The Rise of Justin Smith – How a Missouri Boutique Cornered the Federal Judiciary Read More »
New Zealand’s premium legal market is dominated by four names everyone knows. But beneath that familiar canopy sits an elite tier of specialist boutiques that punch absurdly above their weight — firms that regularly win work the large players refer out, whether for conflicts, specialist depth, or simply because the client wants a partner who’ll actually run the matter.
Our inaugural New Zealand ranking draws on Chambers, Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, and five years of NZ Law Awards data to identify the boutiques that genuinely compete at the top table.
The findings? One Auckland litigation firm has won Specialist Firm of the Year four times in five years — a dominance unmatched anywhere in the market. Another is described by peers as providing services “at or better than the litigation departments of the largest firms.” And at the independent bar, a single chambers holds more King’s Counsel appointments than any other set in the country.
We’ve also identified the corporate boutique operating at “the top end” of the M&A market with just six lawyers — and the insurance specialist that’s scaled to 90 lawyers without taking a single non-insurance instruction.
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Partner Eva Y. Mak has been named to the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list for 2026. This annual list honors 40 rising stars in Silicon Valley who have distinguished themselves in their companies, communities and industries. Eva is a private capital M&A partner based in Silicon Valley and San Francisco with extensive experience
