The Non-Billable Podcast

In this episode, we sit down with DWF CEO Matt Doughty to discuss what comes next for the UK’s biggest private equity-owned law firm.
We discuss DWF’s positioning today: a 5,000-strong global business generating more than £500 million in revenue, split roughly 50-50 between insurance services and commercial legal work. Doughty explains why the firm is doubling down on five core market groups and why “discipline” and clarity about a firm’s “right to win” matter more than chasing the latest trend.
A major theme of the conversation is, understandably, capital. Doughty revisits DWF’s 2019 IPO - the largest law firm listing at the time - and what life was really like as a public company, from market disclosures to share price scrutiny.
He reflects on the challenges of telling a complex equity story to investors, the impact of macroeconomic headwinds, and what ultimately changed when private equity firm Inflexion took the business private in 2023.
Now operating under PE backing, Doughty outlines why he believes private equity isn’t right for every firm, and why he doesn’t expect a “tidal wave” of investment into Big Law.
The Non-Billable Podcast is sponsored by Legora. To find out more about Legora, visit: https://legora.com/
Chapters
00:01 Introduction
01:20 Taking over as CEO and following Nigel Knowles
02:45 Leadership style and protecting DWF’s culture
06:32 DWF today: insurance, commercial and global scale
09:34 The five market groups driving growth
13:12 Why DWF chose to IPO in 2019
15:46 Life as a listed law firm: governance and share price pressure
24:22 Going private: the Inflexion deal and PE backing
34:21 Why private equity isn’t right for every law firm
About Non-Billable
Non-Billable is the media company for modern legal professionals across private practice, in-house and legal tech.
Visit our website: ⁠⁠https://www.nonbillable.co.uk

Alex Kardos-Nyheim is the founder of SafeSign Technologies and now co-lead of AI research at Thomson Reuters. Alex built a legal-specific large language model while still a trainee at A&O Shearman, ultimately selling the company in 2024. He explains why Safe Sign focused on building the “engine” rather than the interface and how a legal LLM was able to outperform some of the biggest AI labs on legal tasks.
A central thread of the conversation is how the competitive landscape in legal AI has shifted. What began as a wave of “wrapper” products around foundation models is now evolving into a deeper contest over models, data and defensibility. Alex argues that the real moat lies not in user interface features, but in training models on high-quality legal data and building robust retrieval systems that reduce hallucinations and improve reasoning.
We also explore how Thomson Reuters is thinking about the full stack: combining proprietary legal data, live market intelligence and a legal-trained model into a cohesive platform. 
Finally, Alex shares what he’s seeing inside law firms. Smaller firms should be using AI as a force multiplier to “punch above their weight”, while larger firms face a strategic imperative to convert their institutional know-how into machine-readable data to power their AI tools. His advice to managing partners is direct: hire data engineers, structure your data and lean into expertise. 
The Non-Billable Podcast is sponsored by Legora. To find out more about Legora, visit: https://legora.com/ 
Chapters
00:01 Introduction
01:20 Building a legal LLM while at A&O
03:40 Engine vs wrapper: why Safe Sign focused on the model
04:41 Life after the Thomson Reuters acquisition
06:24 Inside Thomson Reuters’ “skunk works” AI team
08:42 From point solutions to platform wars in legal AI
11:49 The perfect stack: models, data and RAG
15:07 Why retrieval engines matter more than you think
18:33 Data as the moat
23:56 Can small data beat big data?
27:14 Making legal AI “market aware”
31:05 The evolution of Co-Counsel
33:57 What law firms are getting right and wrong about AI
36:50 “Hire 30 data engineers tomorrow”
38:22 Productising law firm know-how
43:10 Tips if you started a legal AI company today
About Non-Billable
Non-Billable is the media company for modern legal professionals across private practice, in-house and legal tech.
Visit our website: ⁠⁠https://www.nonbillable.co.uk

In this episode, we speak with Simon Levine, former global co-CEO of DLA Piper and now an adviser to Shoosmiths, about leadership, strategy and where Big Law is heading.
Simon recounts the move that brought him to DLA Piper in 2005, when he led a 50-person team across to build a global IP, media and technology practice - at the time, one of the largest lateral hires in the UK market. He went on to join the firm’s executive team and was elected managing partner and global co-CEO in 2014.
A central theme of the conversation is what it takes to run a truly global law firm. Simon reflects on spending much of his time on the road, and why visibility and regular communication were essential in a partnership of that scale. He explains how town halls, open Q&As and firm-wide vlogs became core to his leadership approach.
Looking ahead, Simon shares his view on the current wave of transatlantic mergers, why Europe is being overlooked, and why he believes a gap is opening up in the mid-market - a perspective shaped in part by his current advisory work with Shoosmiths.
The Non-Billable Podcast is sponsored by Legora. To find out more about Legora, visit: https://legora.com/
Chapters
00:01 Introduction
01:20 Journey into Big Law
04:25 The move to DLA Piper and building a global practice
07:18 What it’s really like to run a global law firm
09:38 Why communication mattered more than spreadsheets
13:06 Defining DLA Piper’s strategy and market position
17:17 Why not every firm can chase top-tier private equity
19:06 What DLA Piper was really trying to be
21:49 Sector strategy, brand focus and resisting dilution
26:50 What’s driving the current merger wave
30:48 Why Europe is the missed opportunity for UK firms
38:19 M&A, lateral hires and the limits of external capital
42:07 How AI will change what law firms sell
About Non-Billable
Non-Billable is the media company for modern legal professionals across private practice, in-house and legal tech.
Visit our website: ⁠⁠https://www.nonbillable.co.uk

In this episode, we’re joined by Robert Millard, founder of Cambridge Strategy Group and one of the leading thinkers on law firm strategy and mergers. Robert’s route into the legal industry is anything but conventional - from running a national park in Namibia, to advising law firms around the world, to spending time in-house as a business strategist at Linklaters - before completing a PhD on large law firm mergers over the past two decades.
A big focus of the conversation is what “strategy” actually means in a law firm context and why it’s so often misunderstood. Robert argues that strategy is about diagnosing and solving a real problem, not producing glossy five-year plans or chasing league table positions. They discuss why rigid strategy cycles struggle in a fast-changing world, how AI is reshaping client expectations, and why firms need to become much better at listening to clients and adapting in real time.
Robert then unpacks the findings from his doctoral research into 73 major law firm mergers. He explains how he built a data-driven framework to measure success, cutting through the cliché that “most mergers fail” and why roughly three-quarters of the mergers he studied actually delivered real growth. The discussion also covers what makes transatlantic combinations work, why New York still matters, and the risks of merging with firms in decline.
Finally, the episode looks ahead. Robert shares practical advice for firm leaders considering a merger, from spotting red flags in due diligence to avoiding nostalgia for a “golden age” of legal practice. The conversation closes with a clear message: the firms that succeed will be those that stay close to their clients, remain agile, and are willing to rethink how they operate as the market continues to change.
The Non-Billable Podcast is sponsored by Legora. To find out more about Legora, visit: https://legora.com/ 
Chapters
00:01 Introduction
01:20 From conservation to legal strategy
03:09 Why Robert did a PhD on law firm mergers
04:00 What strategy really means in a law firm
06:10 Why traditional strategy cycles no longer work
07:47 Clients, AI and the need for constant adaptation
09:44 The problem with league tables and five-year plans
14:04 When firms are forced to rethink their strategy
19:15 How to measure whether law firm mergers succeed
25:15 What makes transatlantic mergers work and fail
40:22 What law firm leaders should stop doing now
About Non-Billable
Non-Billable is the media company for modern legal professionals across private practice, in-house and legal tech.
Visit our website: ⁠⁠https://www.nonbillable.co.uk

In this episode, we sit down with Ria Karnik, who leads the associate recruitment team in London at Major, Lindsey & Africa, to unpack what’s really happening in the City talent market, and why the associate level has become the key battleground. Ria shares a recruiter’s-eye view of how US firms have reshaped hiring in London, where demand is strongest right now, and why mid-level lawyers are more sought after than ever.
We get into which practice areas are driving growth - from private equity, leveraged finance and private credit through to litigation, tax and competition - and how US firms are quietly building out fuller-service London offices. Ria also explains how partner moves are feeding through to associate hiring, and why firms with a clear strategy and specialism are winning the war for talent.
The conversation then turns to pay, progression and pressure points. Ria breaks down the reality behind NQ salary headlines, the growing issue of salary bunching at UK firms, and why transparency around pay, bonuses and career paths has become such a differentiator. She also explores how early US firms are now targeting trainees, and what that means for specialisation, training contracts and junior career decisions.
Finally, Ria shares practical advice for both lawyers and firms. For associates thinking about a move in 2026, she explains why understanding your motivations, and exploring a few well-chosen options, matters more than chasing a single name. For firms, she sets out what it really takes to attract and retain talent today, from culture and mentoring to clarity on progression and long-term vision.
The Non-Billable Podcast is sponsored by Legora. To find out more about Legora, visit: https://legora.com/
Chapters
00:01 Introduction
01:20 Ria’s legal recruitment experience
02:26 Major, Lindsey & Africa and its global reach
04:19 Where demand for associate talent is strongest
05:50 The practice areas driving hiring in London
09:00 Life beyond US firms – opportunities across the City
10:23 US firms targeting trainees earlier than ever
15:59 Salaries, bonuses and the reality behind the numbers
21:12 What associates really want from their careers
26:10 How law firms can attract and retain top talent
38:29 Ria’s advice for lawyers considering a move in 2026
About Non-Billable
Non-Billable is the media company for modern legal professionals across private practice, in-house and legal tech.
Visit our website: ⁠⁠https://www.nonbillable.co.uk