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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture- FOMO in Law Firm Mergers, Trainee Salaries, and High-Profile Legal Cases 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture- FOMO in Law Firm Mergers, Trainee Salaries, and High-Profile Legal Cases

As regular host Meg takes a well deserved break this week, Joint Managing Directors Ben Girdlestone and Michael Evans step in for this week’s episode of Counsel Culture to discuss the biggest stories in the UK Legal Market. They explore whether law firm leaders are experiencing FOMO (fear of missing…

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Gus Sellitto
Disputes Digest: the biggest Disputes & Investigations stories brought to you by Byfield- October Edition 771 771 Sean Cullen

Disputes Digest: the biggest Disputes & Investigations stories brought to you by Byfield- October Edition

Welcome to the First Edition of Byfield’s Disputes Digest! We are excited to introduce the inaugural edition of our disputes and investigations newsletter, which will share our insights on the biggest stories in the news from our perspective as communications experts. We will also share updates from Byfield’s Disputes and…

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Counsel Culture – Law Firm Challenges and Ethics in Litigation with Simon Davis 1200 630 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Law Firm Challenges and Ethics in Litigation with Simon Davis

Meg welcomes Simon Davis, former Law Society of England and Wales President and former commercial litigation Partner at Clifford Chance, on the podcast this week to discuss the ever-changing landscape in the legal industry and all of the challenges arising out of that for law firms and their lawyers. They…

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Michael Evans
Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – October Edition 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – October Edition

As the summer fades and the school term kicks into gear, the countdown to Christmas is officially on. For the festive enthusiasts (not naming any names), we’re just 80 days away from the big day—or, for the rest of us, about 30 days until the M&S adverts start their annual…

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Counsel Culture – How brand and tough decisions impact your culture 1200 630 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – How brand and tough decisions impact your culture

Rose Walker from Bloomberg Tax is back on Counsel Culture this week to discuss how mergers, rebrands and restructurings may impact culture in law firms. Leaning on the latest Freshfields rebrand and the Johannesburg office closure and equity partner cut at A&O Shearman, Rose and Meg discuss the communications and…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Disputes & Investigations Monthly: Upcoming BHP Liability Hearing and Managing Reputations throughout ESG Litigation 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Disputes & Investigations Monthly: Upcoming BHP Liability Hearing and Managing Reputations throughout ESG Litigation

Counsel Culture is back with another instalment of Disputes & Investigations Monthly! In this episode, Meg is joined by Founder Gus Sellitto and Senior Consultant Dina Hudson to discuss the upcoming liability trial in the BHP Mariana Dam case, along with broader reputational concerns surrounding strategic litigation related to ESG.…

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Controversial Clients and their Reputational Costs: The Dilemma Facing Law and PR Firms 1200 630 Sean Cullen

Controversial Clients and their Reputational Costs: The Dilemma Facing Law and PR Firms

Choosing to represent controversial clients can raise unique reputational questions for law firms and public relations agencies. A prominent example is the case of the Tate brothers, Andrew and Tristan Tate, who have been embroiled in legal battles alleging serious charges of human trafficking, organized crime, and sexual exploitation. Cases…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Live from IBA 2024: Insights from Mexico City 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Live from IBA 2024: Insights from Mexico City

We’re back with a special IBA Conference edition of Counsel Culture with Michael joining us all the way from Mexico City! In this episode Meg and Michael Evans, Joint Managing Director at Byfield, discuss his highlights at the IBA including: his session on whether firms should speak up or remain…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Navigating Law Firm Expansion, the Talent War and Future Predictions with David Patient 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Navigating Law Firm Expansion, the Talent War and Future Predictions with David Patient

In this week’s episode, Meg is joined by David Patient, Senior Adviser at Travers Smith, for a conversation on law firm expansion in the Middle East, the talent war, and David’s key lessons for law firm leaders. He also shares his predictions on how the legal industry may evolve in…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture- Paul Weiss’ London Growth, Movements at A&O Shearman with James Booth and Edin Imsirovic, Financial News 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture- Paul Weiss’ London Growth, Movements at A&O Shearman with James Booth and Edin Imsirovic, Financial News

After a summer hiatus, Counsel Culture is finally back! We’re kicking off with an exciting new episode featuring James Booth and Edin Imsirovic from Financial News. Together with Meg, they discuss Paul Weiss’ impressive growth one year later and A&O Shearman’s recent hiring of two private equity partners from Sidley…

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Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – September Edition 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – September Edition

Welcome to September’s edition of Byfield Bites: bringing you the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. Given we are in holiday season we’ve kept it short and sharp this month. Firstly and foremost, our thoughts are with the families, friends, and colleagues of those who tragically lost…

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Dina Hudson of Byfield and Elizabeth James-Tingen of Stark Narrative
Communication Insights | The European Class Actions Forum 1725 772 Sean Cullen

Communication Insights | The European Class Actions Forum

Class action litigation is developing at an incredibly fast pace in Europe, with some markets adapting more quickly than others. With the introduction of the Representative Actions Directive, all EU countries are now required to have a mechanism of representative actions in place. The Directive improves consumers’ access to justice…

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Image of Ben Girdlestone, Byfield Joint Managing Director
Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – August Edition 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – August Edition

Welcome to August’s edition of Byfield Bites: bringing you the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. Given we are in holiday season we’ve kept it short and sharp this month. The new UK Government has announced an ambitious legislative agenda. The revived Arbitration Bill, which fell due to the…

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Dina Hudson
Five minutes with Dina Hudson, Senior Consultant, Disputes & Investigations Communications 1920 1280 Sean Cullen

Five minutes with Dina Hudson, Senior Consultant, Disputes & Investigations Communications

How did you end up in PR and specialize in disputes and investigations communications? When I graduated, I was considering two career paths: either the legal route via Training Contracts or communications. I was interviewing with agencies when lockdown occurred, and graduate schemes were pulled. So, I was looking for…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – K&E’s Partner Departures Policy and the Industry’s Misuse of Diverse Talent 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – K&E’s Partner Departures Policy and the Industry’s Misuse of Diverse Talent

This week’s episode of Counsel Culture is now live! In today’s episode, Meg is joined by Joint Managing Director Ben Girdlestone to discuss the return of deals, Kirkland and Ellis Partner moves and diverse lawyers being used as “window dressing” in client pitches. The episode is available to download and…

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PRCA Group Photo
The Importance of Brand for Mid-Market Firms 1280 960 Sean Cullen

The Importance of Brand for Mid-Market Firms

While the 150 or so firms that make up the legal mid-market vary in size, location, speciality or profit – some generating revenues of ~£100 million, others a tenth of that figure – the same issues keep their Managing Partners awake at night: ensuring growth in a crowded market; maintaining…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Focus on Financials, Infrastructure and Socio-Economic Diversity 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Focus on Financials, Infrastructure and Socio-Economic Diversity

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week, Meg is joined by Associate Director Liam McCafferty to discuss how the legal industry (and others) can use the Labour Cabinet as an example for increasing socio-economic diversity, what an increase in UK-focused infrastructure and planning work means for…

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Michael Evans
Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – June 24 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – June 24

Welcome to June’s edition of Byfield Bites: bringing you the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. The debate over NQ pay has resurfaced, and this time with a vengeance. Annual salary hikes by top US firms have been met with significant increases from the Magic Circle, although…

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Counsel Culture – Elections, Financials and the Global Elite 1200 630 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Elections, Financials and the Global Elite

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week, Meg is joined by Michael to discuss the UK and French elections’ impact on the market, UK law firms’ financial results so far and what constitutes the global elite within the legal sector. They also discuss the latest office…

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Baby Reindeer: A Legal Examination of Truth 2400 1350 Sean Cullen

Baby Reindeer: A Legal Examination of Truth

Television binge-watchers and those tuned into popular culture will be familiar with the extraordinary saga that surrounded the release of Netflix’s hit series, ‘Baby Reindeer’. It’s the story of Donny Dunn, a bartender and comedian living in London, and his relationship with a woman called Martha who ultimately stalks him…

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LIDW 24 - Byfield x Solomonic
CAT amongst the pigeons – Trends in the Competition Appeal Tribunal 1200 630 Sean Cullen

CAT amongst the pigeons – Trends in the Competition Appeal Tribunal

Experts in competition litigation from Linklaters, leading competition Chambers Brick Court and reputation consultancy Byfield joined Solomonic to unpack the workings of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), collective actions and the upcoming trends during Disputes Week 2024. With the growth of competition collective proceedings in recent years, the Competition Appeal…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Elections, Glencore and the Post Office Inquiry 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Elections, Glencore and the Post Office Inquiry

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week, Meg is joined by Gus and Dina for their monthly disputes & investigations episode. This time they discuss the latest updates in the Post Office Inquiry and the class action against Glencore, the second-ever collective settlement approval order in…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Mental Health Awareness Week: From Personal Challenges to Professional Shifts 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Mental Health Awareness Week: From Personal Challenges to Professional Shifts

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Week, Meg is joined by Joint Managing Director Ben Girdlestone to delve into several stories from this week’s legal news. They discuss topics including the complexities of dating as a lawyer, strategies for managing stress,…

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Dina Hudson
The Art Of Corporate Apologies: Crafting An Effective Strategy by Dina Hudson – Law360 1600 1600 Sean Cullen

The Art Of Corporate Apologies: Crafting An Effective Strategy by Dina Hudson – Law360

In the intricate dance of courtroom battles, the act of apologizing occupies a controversial and often paradoxical position. For alleged victims, an apology from the defendant can offer a form of validation and emotional relief, potentially easing the personal toll of the litigation process. For the accused organization, it represents…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – General Counsel at the Crossroads of Geopolitics and Stakeholder Management with Eric Staal 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – General Counsel at the Crossroads of Geopolitics and Stakeholder Management with Eric Staal

Exciting News! For the first time ever, Counsel Culture is available to watch in video format! To watch this episode, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6Kiey_UXho In the episode, Meg is joined by Eric Staal, Vice President of Global Markets at Lex Mundi, to discuss challenges faced by General Counsel in responding to…

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Byfield & Solomonic Partnership
Byfield Partners with Solomonic to Strengthen Litigation Support and Market Intelligence 1200 630 Sean Cullen

Byfield Partners with Solomonic to Strengthen Litigation Support and Market Intelligence

Byfield Consultancy is excited to announce a strategic partnership with Solomonic, the UK’s foremost litigation data and analytics platform. This collaboration will enhance Byfield’s ability to support clients embroiled in intricate, high-stakes claims by leveraging Solomonic’s unparalleled market intelligence and data. Byfield Consultancy, renowned for providing reputation counsel to claimants…

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Michael Evans
Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – April 24 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – April 24

Welcome to April’s edition of Byfield Bites: bringing you the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. Partner promotion season is in full swing, bringing the question of gender diversity back into focus – hot off the heels of Women’s History Month. There is evidence that some firms…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Disputes & Investigations Monthly: FCA’s ‘Name and Shame’ proposal, BBC’s Huw Edwards Saga and the Launch of the Group Claim Against Grindr 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Disputes & Investigations Monthly: FCA’s ‘Name and Shame’ proposal, BBC’s Huw Edwards Saga and the Launch of the Group Claim Against Grindr

This week’s episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week Meg is joined by Senior Consultant Dina Hudson for the third instalment of our Counsel Culture Disputes & Investigations Monthly series. They discuss the reputational risks of the FCA’s “name and shame” proposal, the internal and external communications considerations…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Protecting Whistleblowers in Today’s Legal Landscape with Mary Inman 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Protecting Whistleblowers in Today’s Legal Landscape with Mary Inman

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! In today’s episode, Meg and Senior Consultant Dina Hudson are joined by Mary Inman, Partner at Whistleblower Partners LLP. They discussed Whistleblower Partners LLP and the work they’re doing worldwide, as well as the legal, reputational and psychosocial risks faced by…

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A need to have: How does communications work in litigation? 1200 630 Sean Cullen

A need to have: How does communications work in litigation?

In today’s fast-paced and information-saturated environment, the intersection between legal disputes, investigations, and communications has never been more critical. At Byfield Consultancy, a Chambers-ranked agency based in London, we understand the nuances of this intersection and specialise in guiding our clients through the complexities of disputes and investigations with strategic…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – A Conversation with Tony Williams on Retirement, Career Milestones, and the Future of Law 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – A Conversation with Tony Williams on Retirement, Career Milestones, and the Future of Law

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week, Meg welcomes Tony Williams, Retired Principal at Jomati Consultants. They discussed Tony’s plan post-retirement from Jomati as well as the various milestones through Tony’s career including his biggest challenges, most rewarding moments and what lessons he learned. He also…

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Image of Ben Girdlestone, Byfield Joint Managing Director
Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – March 24 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – March 24

Welcome to the March Edition of Byfield Bytes- bringing you the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. The Easter Weekend is finally upon us – and with it, the promise of more Bank Holidays to come. Before we get there, let’s dive into the noteworthy happenings of…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Litigation Funding, Group Actions and What’s Next for Pogust Goodhead 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Litigation Funding, Group Actions and What’s Next for Pogust Goodhead

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week Meg is joined by Ana Carolina Salomão, CIO and Partner at Pogust Goodhead. They spoke about the firm’s compensation case against BHP over a collapsed dam in Brazil; seeing ESG as a business opportunity; group actions and collective redress…

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Five minutes with Account Executive Evie Harrington 2560 1329 Sean Cullen

Five minutes with Account Executive Evie Harrington

Q: How did you find yourself doing legal PR at Byfield?   A: I did a degree in history and was always interested in society, politics and current affairs, so the newsjacking element of PR appealed. I came across the graduate job at Byfield on LinkedIn and it was interesting.…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – In Discussion with Camille Vasquez 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – In Discussion with Camille Vasquez

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week, we have the privilege of welcoming a very special guest, Camille Vasquez, a Partner and Co-Chair of the Brand & Reputation Management Group at Brown Rudnick. Camille, who has worked with a number of high-profile clients, gained global recognition…

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Byfield Bytes the Big Apple 1200 630 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes the Big Apple

Byfield joint managing director Ben Girdlestone reports from New York. This is the third successive Spring trip I’ve made to New York – well, I say Spring but the weather has been more like a monsoon.  Every second person I’ve met has asked me why I brought the English rain…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Can AI Solve the Value Gap in Law Firms? with Stefan Ciesla of Ayora 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Can AI Solve the Value Gap in Law Firms? with Stefan Ciesla of Ayora

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week Meg is joined by Stefan Ciesla, Co-founder of Ayora, a company that provides AI for legal revenue management. They discuss Ayora’s report called “Addressing the $36bn value gap in law firms: a primer for innovative law firms” which claims…

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Image of Ben Girdlestone, Byfield Joint Managing Director
Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – February 24 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – February 24

Welcome to your February edition of Byfield Bytes – bringing you the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. The news agenda has certainly had a transatlantic feel of late – with notably strong annual results posted by many AM Law 100 firms. After a tough 2022, it was…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Disputes & Investigations Monthly: Christian Horner Case, SLAPP Legislation and FCA Transparency 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Disputes & Investigations Monthly: Christian Horner Case, SLAPP Legislation and FCA Transparency

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! Today, Meg is joined by Gus and Dina for the next instalment of our Disputes & Investigations Monthly series. They discuss the Christian Horner case, the latest legislative proposals regarding SLAPPS, the FCA planning to name firms being investigated earlier and…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Bar Row, Judges on Social Media and Lower Class Travel with Steven Barrett 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Bar Row, Judges on Social Media and Lower Class Travel with Steven Barrett

This week’s episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week Meg is joined by Steven Barrett from Radcliffe Chambers to discuss when barristers should call themselves barristers and whether judges should be banned from using social media. They also spoke about Latham & Watkins’ decision to cut off automatic…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – The Latest on the Post Office Inquiry and Axiom Ince with John Hyde 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – The Latest on the Post Office Inquiry and Axiom Ince with John Hyde

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week Meg is joined by John Hyde, Deputy News Editor at The Law Society Gazette. They sat down to discuss the latest developments in the Post Office Inquiry including what the next phase looks like, the impact on the victims…

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WhatsApp Messaging Service
WhatsApp: The Unofficial Boardroom? 1200 630 Sean Cullen

WhatsApp: The Unofficial Boardroom?

Instant messaging apps are neither a new nor novel invention. For quite some time, they have become an unofficial feature of many people’s working habits – why send a formal email when a simple and immediate WhatsApp message will suffice? Why risk an important and timely request getting lost in…

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Michael Evans
Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – January 24 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – January 24

Welcome to the January edition of Byfield Bytes, your monthly update on the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law – and the first of 2024! There has been no shortage of headline-grabbing stories to kick off the year. The Post Office inquiry continues to throw up outrage…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Disputes & Investigations Monthly: Trends to Watch Out For in 2024 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Disputes & Investigations Monthly: Trends to Watch Out For in 2024

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week’s episode marks the first instalment of our Disputes and Investigations monthly series. Meg is joined by Byfield Founder Gus Sellitto and Dina Hudson, Senior Consultant in our Disputes and Investigations practice, to discuss Byfield’s updated Disputes & Investigations PR…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – HSBC’s 2024 Law Firm Strategy Report: A Conversation with Victoria Ritchie 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – HSBC’s 2024 Law Firm Strategy Report: A Conversation with Victoria Ritchie

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week Meg is joined by HSBC’s Head of Professional & Business Services, Victoria Ritchie. They discussed various aspects of HSBC’s annual law firm strategy report for 2024 including, how law firms are planning for the impact of the basis period…

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2024: The Byfield Legal Industry Forecast 1200 630 Sean Cullen

2024: The Byfield Legal Industry Forecast

As we make our way through a wet and windy start to the year, we asked leaders across our agency for their thoughts on what 2024 might hold for the legal industry. Beth Durkin, Associate Director Beth:  “A major legal story in 2023 was the SRA’s Axiom Ince intervention, which…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Black Box, PACCAR and Office Attendance 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Black Box, PACCAR and Office Attendance

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week Meg is joined by Joint Managing Director Michael Evans to discuss the new black box partner remuneration model at Paul Weiss, Slaughter and May announcing it will name and shame those who work from home full time, SSB Law…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Kicking Off 2024 with Litigation Scandals, Hires and M&A Rankings 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Kicking Off 2024 with Litigation Scandals, Hires and M&A Rankings

The first Counsel Culture episode of the year is now live! This week Meg is joined by Account Director Liam McCafferty to discuss this week’s biggest legal stories. They cover the Post Office scandal, Linklaters’ latest hire in the US, SRA fines for breaches of transparency, M&A advisers table from…

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Is litigation always the answer in trademark disputes? 1200 630 Sean Cullen

Is litigation always the answer in trademark disputes?

Trademark and copyright claims regularly hit the news headlines, particularly regarding high profile companies and individuals. But are lawsuits and threats of litigation the best way to approach these disputes? A significant part of a brand is goodwill, which can easily be lost when a trademark dispute is put in…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – 2023 Rewind 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – 2023 Rewind

The last Counsel Culture episode of 2023 is now live! This week, Meg is joined by Joint Managing Directors Michael Evans and Ben Girdlestone to discuss the biggest stories of 2023. They cover the A&O and Shearman merger, Paul Weiss’ recruitment, the Axiom Ince fallout, how firms have handled their…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Cyber Security, Axiom Ince and Workplace Wellbeing Schemes 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Cyber Security, Axiom Ince and Workplace Wellbeing Schemes

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week Meg is joined by Joint Managing Director Michael Evans to discuss the news that Deloitte and KPMG are asking staff to use burner phones on Hong Kong trips and CTS has fallen victim to a cyber security attack. They…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Hacks and Wokes 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Hacks and Wokes

This week’s episode of Counsel Culture is now live! Meg and Joint Managing Director Ben discuss Allen & Overy’s ransomware attack, breaking glass ceilings for women in law, and junior lawyers wanting to join firms and do work that align with their values. The podcast is available to download and…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Fraudly Serious 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Fraudly Serious

This week’s episode of Counsel Culture is now live! As regular host Meg takes a well-deserved break, Account Director Liam and Joint Managing Director Michael step in to speak about the week’s biggest legal stories. They discuss the Rwanda scheme ruling, Axiom SFO raids, the recent trends in younger lawyers…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – At the Bench with Hogan Lovells’ Thomas Kendra 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – At the Bench with Hogan Lovells’ Thomas Kendra

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! Meg is joined by Thomas Kendra, Arbitration Partner from Hogan Lovells, to discuss market trends in litigation and arbitration in Europe and Africa, how Asian investments in Africa are affecting disputes across the continent, the Nigeria arbitration case in the London…

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Image of Ben Girdlestone, Byfield Joint Managing Director
Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – October 23 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – October 23

Welcome to the October edition of Byfield Bytes, your monthly update on the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. We have to start with the biggest legal story of the year – after months of suspense, partners at A&O and Shearman voted overwhelmingly in favour of the…

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Counsel Culture – In Conversation with Mark Stephens CBE 1200 628 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – In Conversation with Mark Stephens CBE

This week’s episode of Counsel Culture is brought to you all the way from Paris, as a week of knowledge sharing and networking at the IBA draws to a close. Joining Meg this week is Mark Stephens CBE, Founder of and Partner at Howard Kennedy and Co-Chair of the International…

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IBA 2023: Predictions from the Byfield team 1200 628 Sean Cullen

IBA 2023: Predictions from the Byfield team

This week, the IBA annual conference takes place. Paris is the destination this year, and before they left for the French capital, Byfield attendees Gus, Michael and Meg shared a few of their thoughts ahead of one of the world’s biggest legal conferences.   Michael, a veteran of the conference, is…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Lawyers’ Hours, Mid-Market Law Firm Consolidation and Directory Headaches 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Lawyers’ Hours, Mid-Market Law Firm Consolidation and Directory Headaches

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week, Meg is joined by Account Director Liam McCafferty to discuss the lawyers doing the longest hours, Mid-market M&A, the Bar Standards Board’s proposed disclosure of chambers rankings to implement further regulatory changes and whether legal directories are still worth…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – A&O Shearman, Revenues and Overheads 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – A&O Shearman, Revenues and Overheads

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week Meg is joined by Joint Managing Director Ben Girdlestone to discuss the A&O Shearman merger, KPMG’s legal arm reaching £100 million in revenues, how Inflation and increased overhead expenses, combined with a decrease in billable hours, is causing concerns…

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Byfield welcomes Dina Hudson back to the agency as a Senior Consultant in Litigation Communications 1200 628 Sean Cullen

Byfield welcomes Dina Hudson back to the agency as a Senior Consultant in Litigation Communications

LONDON, 18 October 2023 – Byfield Consultancy, a market leading Legal Communications firm, has welcomed back Dina Hudson from Portland Communications who rejoins the business as a Senior Consultant in Litigation Communications.  In a newly created role, Dina will focus on expanding Byfield’s disputes and investigations offered domestically and internationally,…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Politics, Settlements and Legal Advice for Rappers 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Politics, Settlements and Legal Advice for Rappers

The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast is now live! In today’s episode, Meg and Ben discuss the latest from party conference season and expected impacts on the legal industry, an increase in the number of lawyers calling a mental health hotline, firms wrestling with return…

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M&A - a handshake
Components of a successful strategic communications strategy in professional services M&A 1220 628 Sean Cullen

Components of a successful strategic communications strategy in professional services M&A

The communications plan is an essential tool for success in any merger or divestment, and benefits from being given due attention early in the process. While it might be tempting to see your communications strategy as just being on the announcement of a deal, a strategic communications plan will lay…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture – Regulator Actions, Political Opinions and Kindness Codes 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture – Regulator Actions, Political Opinions and Kindness Codes

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now available to download and stream! This week Meg is joined by Joint Managing Director Michael Evans to discuss the Axiom Ince closure, the Bar Standards Board’s new social media guidelines for barristers and the SDT’s findings in the Oliver Bretherton case. They…

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Gus Sellitto
PR Perspectives: When Law Firms Offer PR Services by Gus Sellitto – Law360 1200 801 Sean Cullen

PR Perspectives: When Law Firms Offer PR Services by Gus Sellitto – Law360

As the importance of law firm public relations continues to grow and the role of communications teams evolves, in this Expert Analysis series PR professionals discuss lawyer media relations, reputation management and more. The news of libel law firm Schillings International LLP setting up its own public relations firm is…

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Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – September 23 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – September 23

Welcome to the September edition of Byfield Bytes, your monthly update on the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. The most anticipated news event of the year is on the horizon as voting for the A&O and Shearman merger opened last week. Partners have until 13 October…

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A headshot of Byfield Special Advisor Funke Abimbola MBE
Why diversity, equity and inclusion still matter 1200 628 Sean Cullen

Why diversity, equity and inclusion still matter

Driving diversity, equity and inclusion remain firmly on the agenda within the legal industry and firms using best practices will see real commercial and reputational benefits, writes Funke Abimbola MBE, Partner at Korn Ferry (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Consulting, EMEA) and special advisor to Byfield. Driving diversity, equity and inclusion…

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Byfield Appoints Special Advisers 2000 1414 Sean Cullen

Byfield Appoints Special Advisers

London, 18 September 2023: Leading legal PR agency Byfield Consultancy is enhancing its capabilities with the addition of three new special advisers. They join Simon Slater who has worked with Byfield for over four years, including as our non-exec Chairman. The special advisers are drawn from a range of backgrounds…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Partner Moves, Gardening Leave Controversy and Job Cuts 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Partner Moves, Gardening Leave Controversy and Job Cuts

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week, Meg is joined by James Booth, Professional Services Reporter at Financial News. They discuss the Kirkland & Ellis departures to Paul Weiss in London, KPMG halving pay for its US partners on gardening leave and Goldman Sachs announcing job…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: In Case You Missed It and Looking Ahead 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: In Case You Missed It and Looking Ahead

The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast has arrived! This week Meg is joined by Joint Managing Director Michael to discuss the recent departures from Kirkland & Ellis, ongoing developments at Axiom Ince and the news that Schillings is opening a PR arm. They also look…

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Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – August 23 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – August 23

Welcome to the August edition of Byfield Bytes, your monthly update on the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. So much for the quiet month of August—there have been quite a few developments causing a stir in the legal world! The month started with Dentons announcing it…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: The New Regulatory Supercycle: AI, ESG and Billable Hours with Eric Staal of Lex Mundi 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: The New Regulatory Supercycle: AI, ESG and Billable Hours with Eric Staal of Lex Mundi

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now available to download and stream! In this week’s episode, Meg is joined by Eric Staal, Vice President, Global Markets at Lex Mundi, the world’s leading network of independent law firms. They discuss the consequences of AI adoption by in-house teams, the ESG…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: A Look Ahead to Autumn 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: A Look Ahead to Autumn

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! As our regular host Meg has taken a well-deserved break and with summer drawing to a close, we have taken a different approach to this week’s episode. Joint Managing Director Ben Girdlestone and Senior Account Executive Hattie Lunt have stepped in…

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Is it “About Damn Time” Lizzo practised what she preached? 1200 800 Sean Cullen

Is it “About Damn Time” Lizzo practised what she preached?

It’s hard to avoid the ongoing news coverage around allegations of misconduct made against the high profile musician Lizzo. With the latest update being that legal teams are reviewing at least six new allegations against the singer, this case raises questions around the role of high profile celebrities as an…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Separation, Firm Identity, and the Vilification of Lawyers 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Separation, Firm Identity, and the Vilification of Lawyers

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week, Byfield Joint-Managing Director Michael Evans and Meg discuss Dentons’ separation from Dacheng, the firm’s Chinese arm, as well as the latest clarifications from Freshfields on the decision not to release their financials. They also discuss the ongoing Government campaign…

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How Google Analytics Can Improve Your Business 1200 801 Sean Cullen

How Google Analytics Can Improve Your Business

Google Analytics is a platform that collects data from your website and apps to create reports that provide insights for your business. In the 17 years since its launch, the platform has become more and more popular with around 28.1 million websites (roughly 55.49% of all websites) using the programme,…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Regulator Crackdowns, Workcations, and Private Financials 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Regulator Crackdowns, Workcations, and Private Financials

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week, Byfield Joint Managing Director Michael Evans joins Meg to discuss the SRA cracking down on anti-money laundering failures and on firms falsifying asylum and human rights claims. They also discuss the implication of the latest Supreme Court judgment on…

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Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – July 23 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – July 23

Welcome to the July edition of Byfield Bytes, your monthly update on the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. It’s financial reporting season and firms have been releasing their latest profit and revenue figures for  Results have been mixed – while some have posted an increased revenue,…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Financials, Social Mobility, Office Returns and Tattoos 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Financials, Social Mobility, Office Returns and Tattoos

Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast is back, with the same in-depth analysis of the biggest news stories in the UK legal market but now with a mid-week release! Each episode will now hit the airwaves every Wednesday which will allow us to cover those important stories breaking over…

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Content Strategy #101 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Content Strategy #101

Every day at Byfield, we asks ourselves (and our clients): “how do we tell stories people will actually listen to?” That question is as old as the communications industry itself, and the absence of a eureka answer means client briefs haven’t changed much in as long as anyone can remember.…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Financials, Appointments and Looking to the Future 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Financials, Appointments and Looking to the Future

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now available to download and stream! This week, Michael Evans is back to discuss the early days of financials season for UK firms, the new SFO appointment, law firms’ AI and cybersecurity woes, the awful story about Hong Kong putting a bounty on…

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Litigation PR – A Harsh Climate 1200 800 Sean Cullen

Litigation PR – A Harsh Climate

It must be hard being the CEO of an oil company. You run an immensely complex organisation, where at any moment a tanker could run aground, a war break out near one of your fields, or activists tie themselves to various parts of your building. These PR nightmares have recently…

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Michael Evans
Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – June 23 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – June 23

Welcome to the June edition of Byfield Bytes, your monthly update on the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. The big story in the sector continues to be the A&O and Shearman & Sterling Merger. As people began to wind down for the summer, the management teams…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: The Importance of Disability Inclusion 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: The Importance of Disability Inclusion

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now available to download and stream! King & Spalding Associate Rosie Watterson joined Meg this week to discuss how law firms and the wider legal industry can better embrace their lawyers and staff with a disability, chronic and/or mental illness and why it…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Access, Retention, Promotion 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Access, Retention, Promotion

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now available to download and stream! This week, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Partner and PRIME Executive Chair Elizabeth Robertson joins Meg to discuss social mobility in the legal industry. They discuss Elizabeth’s own journey into law, and best practice for firms…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Investigative Journalism is Alive and Kicking 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Investigative Journalism is Alive and Kicking

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now available to download and stream! This week, Byfield Founder Gus Sellitto joins Meg to discuss the impact of investigative journalism on the reputation of companies following the FT’s latest expose into Odey Asset Management, the parallels between the latest partygate revelations and…

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Gus Sellitto
Investigative journalism is alive and kicking, with wide-ranging reputation implications – Gus Sellitto writes for PR Week 771 771 Sean Cullen

Investigative journalism is alive and kicking, with wide-ranging reputation implications – Gus Sellitto writes for PR Week

In 2021 a judge cleared Crispin Odey of indecent assault for an alleged workplace-related incident that took place 20 years earlier. The Judge told the eccentric hedge fund millionaire and founder of Odey Asset Management (OAM) that he could leave the courtroom with his “good character intact” and congratulated Odey…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Masters of the Mergerverse 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Masters of the Mergerverse

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! Rose Walker, Editor at Bloomberg Tax, joins Meg to talk about successful strategies for a merger announcement, following the A&O Shearman news a few weeks ago. We talk about the importance of getting the choreography right for different stakeholders – as…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Magic Mergers 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Magic Mergers

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! As our regular host Meg takes a well-deserved break, Account Director Liam McCafferty steps in to discuss the top legal stories of the week with Joint Managing Director Ben Girdlestone. They cover topics such as the A&O and Shearman merger, The…

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Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – May 23 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – May 23

Welcome to the May edition of Byfield Bytes, your monthly update on the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. A busy month drew to an end with a massive story which broke last Sunday and took everyone by surprise: the proposed merger between Allen & Overy and…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Walk for Access to Justice 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Walk for Access to Justice

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now live! This week, Bob Nightingale MBE, Founder of the London Legal Support Trust, joins Meg to discuss the Legal Walk 2023 taking place in June, access to justice, and the appointment of Alex Chalk as Lord Chancellor. If you wish to participate…

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The Student Group Claim – Capturing your audience and maintaining momentum in group claims 1200 900 Sean Cullen

The Student Group Claim – Capturing your audience and maintaining momentum in group claims

If you’re a student or recent graduate in the UK, you’ve almost certainly seen either targeted adverts to join the Student Group Claim (SGC) across social media, student newspapers sharing the story, or links to sign up to the claim repeatedly shared in group chats. Yesterday the SGC had its…

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Our thoughts on the A&O Shearman merger discussions 1200 800 Sean Cullen

Our thoughts on the A&O Shearman merger discussions

The proposed merger between Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling is the biggest, and arguably most surprising story in the legal sector in recent years.  Joint Managing Director Ben Girdlestone and Account Manager Meg Tillay share their initial reactions to this week’s shock news. Ben “My instant reaction when…

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We must avoid televised court proceedings turning into Punch and Judy courtrooms 1200 800 Sean Cullen

We must avoid televised court proceedings turning into Punch and Judy courtrooms

There is almost a mystique in terms of the UK court system and that is because of a public mistrust of the legal system and the way it works. Judges can be seen as out of touch with modern Britain and an expansion of TV cameras in courtrooms will certainly…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: LIDW, Gen Z and Not-So-Green Credentials 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: LIDW, Gen Z and Not-So-Green Credentials

The latest episode of Counsel Culture is now available to download and stream! This week, CMS’ Head of International Arbitration and London International Disputes Week Co-Chair Richard Bamforth joins Meg and Michael to discuss what to expect at the LIDW starting next Monday, and how London as a disputes centre…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Robots and Riches 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Robots and Riches

This week’s episode of Counsel Culture is now available to download and stream! In this week’s episode, Meg is joined by Harneys’ Global Managing Partner William Peake to discuss the inclusion of AI into lawyers’ day-to-day jobs, compliance experts warning junior lawyers who communicate with clients via Whatsapp and social…

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Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – April 23 780 780 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – April 23

Welcome to the April edition of Byfield Bytes, your monthly update on the latest news and trends in the legal industry. Following Ben’s stellar introduction last month, I am thrilled to take the wheel for this edition. I hope to recapture at least some of his vigour and verve. No…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: …And Justice for All 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: …And Justice for All

The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast is now available to stream and download! In today’s episode Meg is joined by Justice Robin Knowles CBE, judge in the High Court and Chair of the National Pro Bono Centre, and Mary Dobson-Smith, Executive Lead for the National…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture: Raabid Exit 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture: Raabid Exit

The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law is now available to download and stream! This week, Meg and Byfield Joint-Managing Director Ben Girdlestone discuss the messaging and the implications of UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab’s resignation on UK regulators and their efforts in cracking down on bad…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast- Events, dear boy, events 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast- Events, dear boy, events

The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law is now available to download and stream! Byfield founder Gus Sellitto and Associate Director Beth Durkin join Meg this week to discuss some of the week’s biggest stories: Kirkland & Ellis’ latest financials, the future of law firm listings following…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast- Enter the Matrix 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast- Enter the Matrix

This week’s episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law is now live! This week, Joshua Bates, Associate at O’Connors, joins Meg to discuss law firms cancelling their PII covers, anti money-laundering compliance and cyber security challenges they are facing and how to respond to them, the lack of regulatory…

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Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – March 23 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Your Monthly Digest of the biggest stories from the Business of Law – March 23

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Byfield Bytes! This monthly newsletter will keep you in the loop on the biggest stories and issues impacting the business of law. I’m coming to you (virtually) live from a sunny New York City, fresh off a flight from Chicago. I’ve spent the week…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture- Late payments, high salaries and embracing diversity 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture- Late payments, high salaries and embracing diversity

This week’s episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast is now live! This week, Korn Ferry Partner Funke Abimbola joins Meg to discuss how firms can ensure to be paid on time while accommodating clients facing financial pressures, whether the high salaries for junior lawyers are justified, and…

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Hattie Lunt
Byfield Bytes: 5 minutes with Account Executive Hattie Lunt 1708 1708 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: 5 minutes with Account Executive Hattie Lunt

Q: How did you end up in legal PR?   A: “I started as an intern just after graduating from Sussex Uni about 18 months ago. I didn’t know legal PR existed but I did some research when I saw the internship come up and I thought it looked really…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast- The Young and The Reckless 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast- The Young and The Reckless

This week’s episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast is now live! This week, The Times’ Legal Editor Jonathan Ames and Byfield Founder Gus Selitto join Meg to discuss mediation in divorce cases, apprenticeship schemes and junior lawyers’ mental health, India opening up its doors to foreign lawyers,…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast- Lawyer Crossing: New Horizons 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast- Lawyer Crossing: New Horizons

The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast is now available to download and stream. It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day! This week, Byfield Account Manager Jessica Hancock and Account Executive Thomas Ziprin joined Meg to discuss the Bar Council of India’s decision to open…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Women, Allies and Mergers 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Women, Allies and Mergers

The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast is now live! In this week’s episode Meg is joined by Law.com International News Editor Rose Walker. They discuss challenges faced by women in law including career progression and women’s health issues to mark International Women’s Day, as well…

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Counsel Culture Podcast: We started at Cravath and now we’re here 1200 630 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: We started at Cravath and now we’re here

The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast is now live. Ben Girdlestone joins Meg to discuss this week’s news that white shoe firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore is officially establishing a London office, M&A activity slowly making a comeback, robot lawyers and clients asking firms for…

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Byfield Bytes – 5 minutes with Beth Durkin, Associate Director 801 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes – 5 minutes with Beth Durkin, Associate Director

This week, we sit down with Beth Durkin, Associate Director at Byfield, to learn a bit more about her.   How did you end up doing legal PR at Byfield? “I was doing consumer brand PR work at an agency – mostly FMCG clients – and it wasn’t the right…

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Byfield Bytes: 5 minutes with Digital Marketing Assistant Sean Cullen 1200 801 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: 5 minutes with Digital Marketing Assistant Sean Cullen

Q: How did you end up in legal marketing at Byfield? A: “I wanted a role in digital marketing but had never thought about doing it in the legal sector. Then the apprenticeship scheme I joined offered me Byfield and when I got the opportunity it was intriguing as I…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: 1984 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: 1984

The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast is now live. This week Meg is joined by guest Corinne Staves, Partner at Employment, Partnership and Regulatory specialists CM Murray LLP. For the hot topics this week, we look at the latest research into the productivity of law-from-home,…

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ChatGPT and PR 1000 667 Sean Cullen

ChatGPT and PR

As ChatGPT gathers pace in professions, it seemed timely to write about how this device can benefit the PR industry. Just as I was about to put pen to paper (figuratively) I thought why not utilise ChatGPT to create the blog…. Aside from the Americanized spelling, I was impressed by…

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Oliver Beard
Byfield Bytes: Q&A with Account Executive Oliver Beard 1800 1800 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Q&A with Account Executive Oliver Beard

Account Executive Oliver Beard talks about his experience entering the world of legal PR and what he’s learned so far. Q: Why did you decide to go into PR after graduation? A: “I’ve always had an interest in current affairs. In my job, whatever a client is interested in, whether…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: May the Law be with You 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: May the Law be with You

The latest episode of the Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast is now live. This week, to mark the arrival of car-sized extra-terrestrials, Host Droid M-3G0 is joined by Captains Michael “Skywalker” Evans and Ben “Kenobi” Girdlestone of the U.S.S Byfield for a voyage to a legal market far,…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Diverse and inclusive on paper, but not in practice? 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Diverse and inclusive on paper, but not in practice?

The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast is now live! In this week’s episode, Meg is joined by special guest Elaine Banton, Barrister at 7BR, and Co-Chair of the Bar Council’s Equality, Diversity and Social Mobility Committee. We talk about barristers’ wellbeing, the barriers to career…

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Image of Meg Tillay, Byfield Account Manager
Byfield Bytes: Q&A with Senior Account Executive Meg Tillay 1800 1800 Sean Cullen

Byfield Bytes: Q&A with Senior Account Executive Meg Tillay

Meg – a former Law.com journalist who joined Byfield in 2022 – talks about the similarities and differences between journalism and PR and how she’s found it making the transition. Q: It has been six months since you joined Byfield –  how has it been? A: “It has been really…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Time, Ladies and Gentleman 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Time, Ladies and Gentleman

It’s here! The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast has now been released. This week, Meg is joined once again by Ben Girdlestone, Joint Managing Director at Byfield, for another weekly roundup of news from the London legal market. We talk about law firm flotations, the…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Seely, Neidle, and SLAPPs 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Seely, Neidle, and SLAPPs

This Week’s episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast has arrived! This week, Meg is joined by Ben Girdlestone, Managing Director at Byfield, for your regular roundup of the top stories from the London legal market. We talk about the gamble of team hires, AML compliance, press access…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Apiculture Club 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Apiculture Club

Our weekly installment of the Counsel Culture Podcast has now been made live! In this week’s episode, Meg is joined by Byfield Managing Director Michael Evans to discuss rising PII costs for law firms, LDI lawsuits, and recent PEP findings from Legal Cheek’s Most List 2023. We also talk about the…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: When the Recession Bites 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: When the Recession Bites

Our latest installment of the Counsel Culture Podcast is now available to stream and download! In this week’s episode, Meg is joined by The Law Society Gazette Deputy News Editor John Hyde to discuss the effects of the recession on Big Law, including a downturn in M&A activity and potential…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Practise What You Preach 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Practise What You Preach

The Counsel Culture podcast makes a welcome return with our latest episode: Practice What You Preach. In this week’s episode, we are once again joined once again by Simon Slater, former CEO and non-executive board member of Cripps LLP, as well as Board Adviser at Byfield, with his forecasts for…

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No news isn’t always good news 1200 800 Sean Cullen

No news isn’t always good news

As Tuesday dawned this week, we both felt pretty excited as we officially began our new roles as joint managing directors of Byfield.  The team headed into the Christmas break with a mixture of tiredness and coughs and colds, but we had a real feeling that we had momentum behind…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Moving on up (nothing can stop us?) 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Moving on up (nothing can stop us?)

Our latest instalment of the Counsel Culture: The Business of law podcast has now been released! In this week’s episode Meg is joined by special guest Luke Tucker Harrison, co-founder of insolvency and disputes specialists Keidan Harrison LLP, for your weekly digest and analysis of the top stories from the…

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Getting the PR judgment right when calling-out bad corporate behaviour 1200 800 Sean Cullen

Getting the PR judgment right when calling-out bad corporate behaviour

FTSE 250 car dealership giant Inchcape sent out a resounding PR message around high standards of corporate behaviour last week when it made a public statement to the city revealing that its CFO, Gijsbert de Zoeten, had ‘voluntarily’ resigned and would be standing down from the board with immediate effect.…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Year’s End – 02.12.22 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Year’s End – 02.12.22

As another working week draws to a close, another instalment of the Counsel Culture podcast is released to ensure an easy transition in to the weekend. In this week’s podcast we take a hiatus from our usual weekly digests to look back at 2022 with Simon Slater, former CEO and…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Miami Advice – 25.11.22 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Miami Advice – 25.11.22

The latest episode of the Counsel Culture: Business of Law podcast is now live! In this week’s episode Meg Tillay is joined by Michael Evans and podcast first-timer Gus Sellitto to look at the top takeaways from the IBA Conference in Miami. Crockett and Tubbs talk us through the reputational…

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Three big reputational risks for managing partners to consider in 2023 1200 800 Sean Cullen

Three big reputational risks for managing partners to consider in 2023

Our recent survey of managing partners tried tease out not just which business issues they see as most challenging, but which of those also come with the greatest reputational risks. Unsurprisingly, issues around managing costs and talent in a period of high inflation scored highly, along with evergreen issues of…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Markets Don’t Lie – 18.11.22 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Markets Don’t Lie – 18.11.22

They’ll always hit you and hurt you, defend and attack! Ahead of the World Cup, Ben Girdlestone and Meg Tillay declare their footballing allegiances, and spend just a bit of time discussing this week’s top stories in the UK legal Market in our latest episode of Counsel Culture. We talk…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Pro Bono Week (W/ Fred Banning) – 11.11.22 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Pro Bono Week (W/ Fred Banning) – 11.11.22

The latest episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law is now live! For Pro Bono Week we are joined by Fred Banning, formerly of Pinsent Masons and the Founder of Fifth Day, a non-profit organisation founded to provide access to pro bono opportunities business professionals within law firms. We discuss the…

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SRA- Sexual Misconduct Guidance: A Discussion with Andrew Pavlovic 1200 800 Sean Cullen

SRA- Sexual Misconduct Guidance: A Discussion with Andrew Pavlovic

Earlier this Autumn, the Solicitor’s Regulatory Authority (SRA) published a new set of guidance regarding sexual misconduct. This came as the SRA revealed it has faced a huge rise in reports of sexual harassment or misconduct, with 251 reports in the last five years, compared to only 30 in the…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: Magic Tricks 07.11.22 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: Magic Tricks 07.11.22

Although a little later than initially planned, the fourth episode of Counsel Culture: The Business of Law has now been released. In this week’s episode Former legal Journalist, Meg Tillay, is joined by Ben Girdlestone for your weekly digest of the top business of law stories from the London legal…

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Conflicting Ethics in Corporate Relations: The Next Reputational ESG Challenge 1200 674 Sean Cullen

Conflicting Ethics in Corporate Relations: The Next Reputational ESG Challenge

Traditionally, businesses have tried to maintain a degree of separation from politics and social issues – take a side and you might risk alienating important internal and external stakeholders. However, a new era of ‘stakeholder activism’ has shaken this up. No doubt ‘ESG’ has become the buzz word (or acronym)…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: What are Managing Partners Afraid of? 31.10.22 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: What are Managing Partners Afraid of? 31.10.22

A special Halloween edition of the Counsel Culture podcast has now been made live! In this bonus episode, Meg Tillay is joined by Ben Girdlestone to talk about what really spooks managing partners of big law firms – including the war for talent, client fees, and cyber-vampires. The podcast is…

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Counsel Culture Podcast
Counsel Culture Podcast: It’s Just Not Cricket 28.10.22 2560 1707 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast: It’s Just Not Cricket 28.10.22

The second instalment of our brand new podcast “Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast” where we explore the week’s most interesting and talked-about stories in the London Legal Market has just landed. This week, Former legal Journalist, Meg Tillay, is joined by Michael Evans for your daily digest of…

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Don’t do it like the Tories: how to avoid humiliation and chaos when changing leadership 1200 800 Sean Cullen

Don’t do it like the Tories: how to avoid humiliation and chaos when changing leadership

One of the best things about having a parent living in the South of France is my regular end of October trip, during which the weather is almost guaranteed to be warm and sunny.  This year has been no different and yet I’ve spent less time outside enjoying the barmy…

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Counsel Culture Podcast- Episode 1: Con Air 21.10.22 1200 630 Sean Cullen

Counsel Culture Podcast- Episode 1: Con Air 21.10.22

Byfield is delighted to launch our brand new podcast “Counsel Culture: The Business of Law Podcast“ where we sit down with a guest and explore the week’s most interesting and talked-about stories in the London legal market. This week, former legal journalist Meg Tillay is joined by Michael Evans to…

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What’s Keeping Managing Partners Up at Night 1707 2560 Tabitha Steemson

What’s Keeping Managing Partners Up at Night

The very nature of law is that it touches on every part of society. There’s no better demonstration of this that looking at the recently published articles by legal correspondents at our national newspapers. From the war in Ukraine to social media, these journalists are writing on every big issue…

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Even Punks Need PR: Rebuilding Reputation after Crisis 1200 1600 Tom Ziprin

Even Punks Need PR: Rebuilding Reputation after Crisis

Building a good reputation from scratch is hard. Any episode of Dragon’s Den will illustrate how identifying and publicizing a USP to the correct audience is a challenge. What’s much harder is rebuilding a tarnished reputation. Celebrating 15 years in business, Brewdog have grown their brand on provocative marketing driven…

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How a digital revolution has shaped the world of PR 1600 1066 Sean Cullen

How a digital revolution has shaped the world of PR

As digital tools have become more embedded and accessible in our society over the last few decades, the percentage of firms using these tools, in conjunction with their marketing strategies, has also increased. The reason for their increasing popularity is down to the wide scope of benefits that they can…

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Corporate Comms: Keeping in front of the downturn 2560 1922 Ben Girdlestone

Corporate Comms: Keeping in front of the downturn

I was fortunate enough to recently enjoy two weeks’ holiday and equally lucky to visit the West Coast of the US, which is home to my extended family.  While endeavouring to switch off from work, the break did give me some time to reflect on the fact that, barring an…

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Reputation Management in Distressed Asset Situations: Complex but Vital 2560 1700 Michael Evans

Reputation Management in Distressed Asset Situations: Complex but Vital

There is no doubt the UK is heading into a significant recession. This will mean a large increase in businesses and households in financial distress. This is already visible in data, such as the latest Begbies Traynor red flag report, showing 37% more businesses are in critical financial distress compared…

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How has litigation PR evolved over the last 15 years? 2560 1707 Gus Sellitto

How has litigation PR evolved over the last 15 years?

Gus: The media has taken an increasing interest in high-profile disputes over this time. It used to be back in the day that Court reporters would attend court and you would read about developments in the morning papers. That is still the case, but the news cycle has changed dramatically…

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Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose 2560 1707 Michael Evans

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

Since the inception of Byfield 15 years ago, a lot has changed within the legal industry. This includes the nature of the crises lawyers and firms face. Conduct and culture for example would have featured on the list of possible crises in 2007 for example, but not to the same…

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Quickfire Conversation: A bitesize overview of the evolution of legal communications 2560 1693 Ben Girdlestone

Quickfire Conversation: A bitesize overview of the evolution of legal communications

As we continue Byfield’s 15th anniversary celebrations, Director Ben Girdlestone and Associate Director Beth Durkin reflect on how corporate communications has evolved in the legal sector over that time. (Two minute read.)   Ben: My first job in the sector was at a silver circle firm and I have a…

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A Big Bang for Byfield as we celebrate 15 years! 2560 1920 Sean Cullen

A Big Bang for Byfield as we celebrate 15 years!

2007 heralded a ‘Big Bang’ for legal services with the advent of the Legal Services Act which promised to revolutionise the profession by opening it up to external investment and competition.  I had my own mini Big Bang in May the same year when I cofounded Byfield Consultancy with Richard…

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What a Twitter World Cup of Law Firms Taught Me About Influence 2560 1707 Tabitha Steemson

What a Twitter World Cup of Law Firms Taught Me About Influence

Let me tell you a story. Cast your mind back to the first lockdown in spring 2020. Everything was a bit grim, weird and scary, most shops and schools closed, and no vaccines yet in sight. I was going slightly mad with three kids at home, a constantly overloaded WiFi…

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Reflection on a Week in New York 1024 768 Tabitha Steemson

Reflection on a Week in New York

Some of you may have noted from my earlier blog that I was in New York last week.  I’ve worked with American clients and colleagues throughout most of my career and I’m also half American myself – but, despite all that, I learnt a lot about the legal sector in…

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A Little Bite of the Big Apple 1024 574 Ben Girdlestone

A Little Bite of the Big Apple

I’m lucky enough to be in New York this week meeting our US clients, PR agencies and some of the other firms we know.  Jet lag is a funny thing but New York feels a bit different somehow.  It’s definitely quieter, with less people around and I’ll be interested to…

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Is Social Media The Changing Face of the Grassroots Protest? 1708 1273 Hattie Lunt

Is Social Media The Changing Face of the Grassroots Protest?

In recent years, we have seen a drastic change in the way social media is used, targeted, and consumed. Users of all ages are becoming involved in online demonstrations and petitions across the globe, elevating grassroots protests into an online format. Previously, political movements relied on tangible materials, such as…

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IWD
International Women’s Day– An Opportunity to Reflect 1200 628 Katherine Walkling

International Women’s Day– An Opportunity to Reflect

International Women’s Day is this week. Here are our tips on how firms can prepare, avoid a PR blunder on the day, and what Byfield does to support gender equality. Internal Comms/Operations: This week, it would be prudent for business development and marketing teams to assess how they are preparing…

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New Money Will Up the Stakes for Law Firm Communications 1707 2560 Ben Girdlestone

New Money Will Up the Stakes for Law Firm Communications

In September last year, the partners at Mishcon de Reya  voted to float  the firm on the London Stock Exchange – one of the most significant pieces of news in the legal sector for many years.  Mishcon is a major legal brand with a profile that will make it the…

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Finding the right line: litigation PR in an evolving ecosystem
Why Litigators Need to Be Talking About Litigation PR 1684 2388 Gus Sellitto

Why Litigators Need to Be Talking About Litigation PR

Our new research on litigation PR launched last week reveals some interesting reasons as to why litigation PR is a useful tool in the overall litigation armoury.  Comments range from “it’s a weapon that can be used both offensively and defensively…” to litigation PR being “a significant element of a…

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Bad Culture Set to Become a Regulatory as Well as a Reputational Issue for Firms in 2022 612 366 Michael Evans

Bad Culture Set to Become a Regulatory as Well as a Reputational Issue for Firms in 2022

Conduct issues have been at the heart of the legal sector’s biggest reputational and regulatory issues in recent years. Everyone is familiar with a handful of #metoo incidents that went beyond the legal press to make national and international headlines. Over the same period another trend emerged, with the Solicitors…

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Why Poverty Needs to Move Closer the Top of Law Firms’ ESG Agendas 1280 720 Ben Girdlestone

Why Poverty Needs to Move Closer the Top of Law Firms’ ESG Agendas

As I did my usual Monday morning trawl of the business pages this morning I was struck by one story in particular.   A hard hitting report by the Social Market Foundation on poverty in London –  and the role of business in helping tackle it  – accused FTSE 100 companies…

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A New Year’s Resolution – Personal PR Perspectives 1600 1067 Katherine Walkling

A New Year’s Resolution – Personal PR Perspectives

As we enter into a new year, many of us are thinking about what we learned last year and how to put it to good use in 2022 – we assess what has happened and what we have accomplished (or not accomplished….) in the past year, and what we want…

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Law Firm PR Challenges in 2022: It’s All About Your People 2560 1707 Liam McCafferty

Law Firm PR Challenges in 2022: It’s All About Your People

The last year has seen no shortage of challenges for law firm leaders – forced to navigate a period of switching rapidly between actual certainty, apparent certainty and no certainty at all without warning. There is, however, one lesson from the previous year that certainly has stuck: namely that the…

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Law Firm Merger Communications: Walking a Tightrope Above a Minefield 2048 2560 Tsuey Shan Halford

Law Firm Merger Communications: Walking a Tightrope Above a Minefield

By Tsuey Shan Halford As merger discussions between Clyde & Co and BLM have kicked off a round of speculation about a new wave of consolidation in the legal sector in 2022, Byfield Associate Director Tsuey Shan Halford sets out the particular challenges of choreographing law firm M&A communications and…

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Why it’s Time to Talk About the Benefits of Neurodiversity in Law 2560 1445 Jonathan Harris

Why it’s Time to Talk About the Benefits of Neurodiversity in Law

By Jonathan Harris Neurodiversity is a collective term for neurological conditions such as Autism, Dyspraxia, ADHD, Tourette’s, and mental health disorders. Only 3% of lawyers declared that they had a disability, compared to 13% of the general workforce of the UK. Research undertaken by the Law Society published in 2020…

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