The Legal Cheek Podcast

Rounding off our legal history podcast mini-series, Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge and former Allen & Overy corporate partner Alan Paul sit down once again to chat about the legal industry — this time from 2016 to the present day. Alex and Alan discuss the busy and turbulent seven years, covering events including Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, Covid-19 lockdowns and how this all impacted and shaped the legal industry. If you enjoyed this standalone episode, make sure to check out our previous podcasts in the series where Alan and Alex explore corporate law back from 1978 until the present day.

We are back for a third edition of Legal Cheek’s new legal history podcast mini-series! In this episode, former Allen & Overy partner Alan Paul looks back on his time as a top corporate dealmaker during the global financial crisis of 2007-08 and the chaos that ensued in the years after. In conversation with Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge, Alan looks back on many of the factors that led to the crash, how it all went so wrong and the impact on the legal industry, both at the time and today. This is a standalone podcast, but if you enjoyed it make sure to check out our previous episodes where Alan and Alex look back on corporate law in the 1980s and 90s.

In the second episode of Legal Cheek’s legal history podcast series, Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge is joined again by former Allen & Overy partner Alan Paul. Alan looks back on his time as a corporate law star in a period of rapid growth and globalisation for law firms in the City. He walks us from 1993 into the new millennium and through the build up to the historic financial crash of 2008, considering some of the key factors that led to the crisis. This is a standalone podcast episode, but if you enjoyed this episode make sure to listen to the previous edition in the series, where Alan and Alex discuss corporate law in the 80s.

On the first of Legal Cheek’s new legal history podcast mini-series, Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge sits down with Alan Paul, former Allen & Overy partner and corporate law star. Alan reflects on his career journey from trainee solicitor in the late 1970s, during the Winter of Discontent and at the beginning of Margaret Thatcher’s term as UK Prime Minister, to Magic Circle partner by the mid-80s, and through until the end of the decade. He discusses the stark differences between his experience and what lawyers face today, but also the similarly testing economic and social environments at that time and now.

If you’re unfamiliar with the BNOCs of law-gram, rest assured that Lucy Cole (also known as @lucydoeslaw) is one of them. With nearly 10,000 followers, the future Clifford Chance trainee is known for embracing Instagram’s Stories, TV and Reels features to share her study and application tips with the masses. In this episode of The Legal Cheek Podcast, Lucy looks back at her studygramming journey so far, explaining how she copes with the pressures of social media and her advice to those wanting to follow in her footsteps.

After more than a year of working from home, the traditional side of the sector seems set to embrace a new ‘new normal’: hybrid working. But will this be enough for lawyers in traditional firms? Or will their new taste for flexibility drive them to NewLaw firms, such as Level, that are shaking-up the traditional ways of working in law? In this podcast, Level’s founding partners Dan Lowen and Morris Bentata share their predictions ahead of today’s virtual conference, Living Room Law. We also hear from the Level’s head of growth, Amy Sullivan, who discusses the firm's new training contract, which embraces the new SQE approach to qualification.

Shortly after training at a magic circle law firm, Coker had an epiphany: a busy career in commercial law shouldn’t require sacrificing doing the things you love. Since then, Coker has joined the new wave of lawyers doing things differently, as she now balances life as a legal consultant for Re:link, Linklaters’ network of flexible lawyers working on a regular fixed term basis, alongside her photography, art and lifestyle business. On the latest episode of The Legal Cheek Podcast, Coker looks back on her search for flexibility, and reveals what it takes to become a contracting lawyer.

Students have had a tough time during the pandemic, with many finding that online teaching doesn’t quite match the in-person experience and some disappointed with their universities’ responses to the COVID lockdowns. In law, a group of BPP University students have been particularly vocal with their complaints, publishing an open letter outlining their unhappiness with delivery of the Legal Practice Course (LPC). This letter has been reported widely across the legal press. Legal Cheek reporter Adam Mawardi sat down with one of this group of BPP students to hear first-hand their claims and complaints. Listen to their interview in latest episode of The Legal Cheek Podcast now.

Public speaking is a key part of everyday lawyer life – from simple team meetings to advising clients on conference calls. Meanwhile, as remote working continues to reshape the delivery of legal services, clear communication is important now more than ever. In this episode of The Legal Cheek Podcast, City lawyer Eloise Skinner offers tips and tricks to improve your public speaking skills.

In this episode of The Legal Cheek Podcast, City lawyer Eloise Skinner discusses essential skills to cultivate during the early stages of your legal career -- whether you’re an NQ fresh from a retention round, a training contract holder or even an aspiring lawyer. To prepare you for law firm life, Skinner breaks her advice down into three sections: the importance of staying curious, ways of upskilling, and building your personal brand.

How do you stay resilient in the face of failure? In this episode of The Legal Cheek Podcast, Eloise Skinner speaks to Richard Youle, private equity partner at Skadden, who discusses the importance of being organised, asking for constructive feedback and knowing when to ask yourself, ‘is this the right job for me?’ This episode was recorded before the lockdown.

Many of us will have a bit more time on our hands than we expected this summer. It’s tempting to sink into an endless cycle of Netflix and TikTok – but once you get bored with that, what could you be doing with your time? In this episode of The Legal Cheek Podcast, Eloise Skinner, corporate lawyer and author, will discuss ways aspiring lawyers can be more productive during the lockdown.

On this episode of The Legal Cheek Podcast, we speak to Lewis Baxter, a 21 year old Durham law student and mental health advocate, about battling depression, public speaking, founding mental health organisation The Blurred Line Group, and his top time-management tips for getting it all done.

Want to know how to build a brand as a lawyer? Wondering how to balance your personal interests with your career? In this episode of The Legal Cheek Podcast, we chat to Chrissie Wolfe, YouTube star and personal injury lawyer – about all of that and more.

As part of Legal Cheek’s podcast series, a trio of City lawyers reflect on their reasons for pursuing a career in law and how their passion for their respective practice areas has developed over time.