Professional Practices Alliance Podcasts

We are are pleased to share with you the recording of our recent Professional Practices Alliance expert panel discussion on 'Measuring and Driving Diversity and Inclusion in Professional Services Firms'.

Over the last year, the issue of workplace inequalities and under-representation of minority groups has been reignited, or come to the fore, on the agenda of many businesses, including professional services firms. Such firms may now be looking afresh at how to drive and measure diversity and inclusion within their partnerships and wider staff constituency.

In this panel discussion, you can hear Chair Sarah Chilton (CM Murray LLP, Partner), Emma Bartlett (CM Murray LLP, Partner), David Shufflebotham (Founder of PEP Up Consulting), Corinne Staves (Partner & Head of Professional Practices, Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP) and excellent Guest Speakers, Mouhssin Ismail (Principal of Newham Collegiate Sixth Form) and Ray Berg (UK Managing Partner of Osborne Clarke LLP) explore some of the vital diversity and inclusion issues with which firms will need to engage, including:

- The moral, economic and regulatory importance of partnerships driving and embedding a sustainable culture of diversity and inclusion.

- The impact on business innovation and people strategy and how to get partnership ‘buy in’, wider engagement and accountability.

- Broadening the firm’s approach to diversity to include social mobility, cultural diversity and neurodiversity and addressing the intersection with legally protected characteristics like age, gender and race.

- Measuring diversity and inclusion through quantitative and qualitative data tools as “what gets valued, gets measured and what gets measured gets done”.

- The critical need for firms to assess inclusion distinct from diversity and the approaches firms can take to tackling homogeneous replica cultures at all levels. As one speaker put it “you can get asked to the party but if no one asks you to dance, what’s the point of going to the party”, so it is necessary for firms to not only have diversity in the staff and partners, but to also cultivate supportive environments for them to flourish at all levels.

- Key challenges to creating a more diverse and inclusive environment in professional practices.

- Recruiting a diverse equity partnership and senior leadership, nurturing the pipeline and addressing the challenges of diversity attrition, including through collaboration with educational establishments, effective communication, role models and coaches, implementing proper systems and process and equipping staff with diversity and equality skills and training.

- The benefits, limitations and practical tips for using equality legislation and constitutional partnership documents to address under-representation and inclusion in professional services partnerships.

For more information on the issues covered in this recording, please contact Partners Sarah Chilton and Emma Bartlett, who specialise in employment and partnership law and advise businesses and individuals on equality and discrimination issues.

The Professional Practices Alliance is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between leading UK independent legal, accounting and law firm management specialist advisers, CM Murray LLP, Buzzacott LLP, Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP, Pep Up Consulting and Cambridge Strategy Group.

Join the Conversation

We are delighted to launch the Professional Practices Alliance LinkedIn group, a collaborative networking and information sharing space for professional services firms. Join our LinkedIn group here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13930936/

Follow us on Twitter: @PartnershipAlln

Measuring and Driving Diversity and Inclusion in Professional Services Firms

We are delighted to share with you the recording of our recent webinar, ‘Cash, Remuneration and Economic Uncertainty’, in which partnership and regulatory law specialists discuss navigating economic uncertainty and how this can be successfully achieved within professional firms.

Robert Millard of Cambridge Strategy Group, David Shufflebotham of Pep Up Consulting and Corinne Staves and Andrew Pavlovic, Partners at CM Murray LLP, explore the important and practical considerations professional practice firms ought to consider in these times of economic uncertainty. Their discussion addresses key questions and topics including:
•	What key commercial changes are affecting firm strategy and their decision making?
•	What sources of capital firms should be looking to in the new high interest rate landscape; are the traditional methods still viable? 
•	How can firms better structure their own governance to appear more attractive to private equity and bank funding?
•	Strategic options available to mid-market firms to maintain financial resilience; 
•	Key considerations of financial health from an SRA perspective; at what point do the SRA get involved with a firm in financial distress? How do the SRA view different forms of funding?
•	What does the financially resilient law firm of the future look like?

Cash Remuneration & Economic Uncertainty

We are delighted to share with you the recording of our recent webinar, ‘Managing Partner Performance in Professional Services Firms, Evaluating Contribution and Using Partner Processes to Drive Your Firm’s Strategy’, in which partnership and regulatory law specialists discuss how to manage successfully partner promotion and remuneration processes within professional services firms.

Jeremy Callman, Barrister at Ten Old Square, David Shufflebotham of Pep Up Consulting and Sarah Chilton and Andrew Pavlovic, Partners at CM Murray LLP, explore the important and practical considerations professional service firms ought to consider when making decisions about partner promotions and remuneration. Their discussion addresses key questions and topics including:

What do the regulators, such as the SRA, expect regarding workplace culture and partner performance? How does this impact firm strategy and decision-making?
 
What factors should an organisation consider when developing its partner promotion and remuneration strategy and processes?
 
What does an effective partner performance evaluation process look like? 
 
What governance powers and documentation are required to implement these evaluation and remuneration processes?

If you would like to discuss any of the above issues in further detail, please contact Partners Sarah Chilton and Andrew Pavlovic, who specialise in partnership, professional discipline and regulatory law issues for firms and partners.

Managing Partner Performance in Professional Services Firms & Evaluating Contribution

We are delighted to share with you the recording of our recent webinar, ‘How Do You Attract and Retain ‘High Flyer’ Partners?’, in which partnership specialists discuss navigating the recruitment process for high flyers and important issues facing such decision making within professional practice firms.

n this recording, Chair Corinne Staves (Partner, CM Murray LLP), Dr Robert Millard (Cambridge Strategy Group), David Shufflebotham (PepUp Consulting), and Zulon Begum (Partner, CM Murray LLP), are joined by guest speaker Siobhán Lewington, Partner at transatlantic legal recruiting firm, Macrae. The panel explore the key challenges involved in attracting and retaining ‘high flyer’ partners, who are often at the very heart of the engine room of many firms. Their discussion addresses key questions and topics, including:

- What do we mean by high flyers; what might firms be looking for?
 
- The extent to which firm culture, partner performance and succession planning are key strategic considerations
 
- How can firms elevate the high flyers already identified within their ranks?
 
- Should firms guarantee offer compensation packages or are they too flawed with difficulties?
 
- How can firms manage any tensions between high flyers and other partners?
 
- The ways in which integration plays into promoting the long-term success of high flyers within a firm

How Do You Attract and Retain ‘High Flyer’ Partners?

In this panel discussion, subject specialists share their expert insights into the interesting and challenging features of LLPs that they have seen over the last 25 years and what they see approaching on the horizon for LLPs. 

Jeremy Callman (Ten Old Square), Dr Robert Millard (Cambridge Strategy Group) and Corinne Staves (CM Murray LLP) join chair Sarah Chilton (CM Murray LLP) to explore the key benefits of using LLPs in professional services, the trends they have seen – including in LLP disputes – key tax changes and issues, strategic considerations as well as what the coming years may hold for LLPs. Their discussion addresses key questions and topics including:

- How has the structure of LLPs developed since birth; what are some of the key elements of different LLP structures and their implications?

- Financial services LLPs vs professional services LLPs: the difference in attitudes on mutual trust between partners and duties of good faith at law and in LLP agreements;

- The use of English LLPs across the world, their evolution in different jurisdictions and how the increase in larger LLPs has affected strategic decisions;

- Risk considerations: tax, regulation, liability and litigation;

- Which partner remuneration trends have LLPs imported from other sectors and have they led to more or fewer disputes?

- What are the differences, if any, in downward incentivisation between LLPs and more corporate structures?

- What does the next 25 years hold for the future of LLPs?

If you would like to discuss any aspect of LLPs or if you have any questions arising from this recording, please contact Partners  Corinne Staves or Sarah Chilton, both of whom specialise in partnership law.

The LLP: 25 Years On - Professional Practices Alliance Webinar

Following the 6th IFSEA International Conference on Executive & Founder Issues in June 2025, we are delighted to share with you a follow up podcast for the session ‘Leading Through Strikes: Executive Strategies for Union Engagement’. Watch the video or listen to the recording here.

In this brilliant discussion, the IFSEA annual conference panellists explore important multijurisdictional issues for executives to understand in a strike situation or labour conflict.
- Jonathan Tuck, Baker McKenzie (UK)
- Carlos Pareja Frade, Augusta (Spain)
- Jennifer Platzkere Snyder, Dilworth Paxson (Philadelphia/NY, USA)
- Chair: Danny Kaufer, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (Montréal, Canada)

In particular, the panel discuss:
- The differences in frameworks for union formation and industrial action.
 
- How are trade unions changing and what are the implications for executive strategies during labour conflicts?
 
- The boundaries of lawful executive conduct during strikes and the consequences of non-compliance.

Leading Through Strikes: Executive Strategies for Union Engagement - Post-IFSEA Conference Podcast Recording

Following the 6th IFSEA International Conference on Executive & Founder Issues in June 2025, we are delighted to share with you a follow up podcast on the session, ‘Breaking the Silence: “Everyone knew but no one did anything” – Tackling Workplace Harassment and Bullying, and Ineffective Regulation’. Watch the video, listen to the recording or read the transcript.

In this excellent discussion, the IFSEA annual conference panellists examine employer obligations regarding workplace harassment and bullying, as well as the key issues around addressing – and failing to address – misconduct.

- Chair: Beth Hale,CM Murray LLP (UK)
- Andrew Pavlovic, CM Murray LLP (UK)
- Nick Vamos, Peters & Peters (UK)
- Mathilde Houet-Weil, Weil et Associes (France)
- Lori L. Deem, Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd (Chicago, USA)

In particular, the panel discuss:
- What responsibilities are placed on the employer in the UK, France and the US?
- When does inaction bear regulatory and/or criminal consequences?
- The ethical and legal implications of using NDAs to conceal repeated wrongdoing.
- Current practices aimed at preventing the hiring of the rolling bad apple.
- How can senior leaders, regulators and governments do better?

Breaking the Silence: “Everyone knew but no one did anything” - Tackling Workplace Harassment and Bullying, and Ineffective Regulation

Following the 6th IFSEA International Conference on Executive & Founder Issues in June 2025, we are delighted to share with you a follow up podcast on the session, ‘Shielding Your Team: Enhancing Safety and Security in the Modern Workplace’. Watch the video, listen to the recording or read the transcript.

In this engaging discussion, the panellists revisit key themes from their session at this year’s IFSEA conference - identifying risks to employee wellbeing, exploring preventative strategies, and considering how organisations can respond effectively when harm occurs.

- Suzanne McKie KC, Farore Law (UK)
- Andre Royer, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (Canada)
- Anne Davies, Richardson Lissack (UK)
- David Fisher, CM Murray LLP (UK) (Chair) 

In particular, the panel discuss:
- Understanding the organisational impact of personality-affecting disabilities and how adverse behaviour can affect team dynamics and wellbeing
 
- Approaches in the private sector in Canada that are shifting perceptions of mental health
 
- Lessons from workplace tragedy linked to excessive pressure and how leadership can respond to prevent future incidents
 
- Exploring the legal avenues available to employers - including injunctions - when addressing serious misconduct in the workplace

Shielding Your Team: Enhancing Safety and Security in the Modern Workplace - Post-IFSEA Conference Podcast Recording

We are delighted to share with you the recording of our recent webinar, Professional Services in the Age of AI: Regulation, Strategy, and Real-World Impact. 

In this discussion, Anthony Davis (FisherBroyles), Devika Kewalramani, (FisherBroyles), Dr Robert Millard (Cambridge Strategy Group), David Shufflebotham (PepUp Consulting) and Nick Leale (CM Murray LLP) join chair Corinne Staves (CM Murray LLP) to explore the impact of technology on professional services firms, with a particular focus on regulation. 

Topics covered include:
- How is technology reshaping professional services firms? From AI-powered research and disclosure tools to virtual client engagement, technology is now embedded in every aspect of firm strategy and operations.
 
- What are the implications for structure, pricing, and regulation? AI is driving a shift away from traditional leverage models, elevating the role of technologists and challenging the billable hour. Value-based pricing is gaining ground and firms must rethink how they assess and compensate their partners.
 
- What regulatory and ethical risks must firms manage? Competence, confidentiality, and supervision remain central. Firms must develop clear AI policies, invest in training and maintain strong oversight - particularly as regulatory scrutiny increases.
 
- What practical steps should firms take now? Define your AI business case, benchmark tools, train your teams, and document compliance. The next generation of lawyers is already embracing AI - leaders must act now to stay ahead.

This summary was drafted using Microsoft Copilot, as part of our ongoing exploration of how AI can support and enhance professional services.
 
If you would like to discuss any aspect of AI in relation to your firm, or if you have any specific questions arising from this discussion, please contact Partner and non-contentious partnership specialist Corinne Staves, or Partner and leading regulatory law specialist Nick Leale.

For example, CM Murray LLP can assist firms with reviewing their HR, risk management and other policies and/or their terms of business, on changes to governance and compensation systems for partners as a result of the increased adoption of technology and the regulatory implications of the use AI and technology in client service.

Professional Services in the Age of AI: Regulation, Strategy, and Real-World Impact Professional Practices Alliance (PPA) Webinar Recording

In the third and final episode of our podcast series with Emily Kaufer, Senior Director of Human Rights and Harassment at Air Canada, Emma Bartlett, Partner, and Gabrielle Lintott, Senior Associate, at CM Murray LLP, discuss some of the reputational issues at play when it comes to workplace investigations.

In this recording, Emma, Gabrielle and Emily discuss reputational issues in the context of investigations, including cross-border investigations, with a particular focus on:
The potential detrimental impacts on reputation where an organisation fails to respond to allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct or carry out a poorly managed investigation
 
Strategies for addressing and minimising reputational issues and risk
 
Risk management verses crisis management, and dealing with the fallout of an improper investigation and threats to reputation
 
The intricacies of cross border investigations and how cultural considerations might play a role in an investigation process
Listen to the previous episodes in the series below:
Bias in Workplace Investigations
Domestic Violence and Sexual Harassment Related Investigations

If you have any questions regarding this discussion or require advice regarding workplace investigations, please do not hesitate to contact Partner Emma Bartlett, Senior Associate Gabrielle Lintott, or another member of our Investigations Unit.

CM Murray LLP is a leading specialist employment, partnership and regulatory law firm. We are ranked Tier 1 and Band 1 in Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners for Partnership Law and Senior Executives and are recognised as having "a truly exceptional culture. The overwhelming sense that you are in hands of superb experts who are highly compassionate and understand the unique pressures their client has." (Legal 500 UK, 2026).

Legal 500 UK 2026 ranks Partner Emma Bartlett as a Leading Partner in the field of Senior Executives: "Emma has deep experience in negotiation and is a trusted advisor and defender of the rights of her clients. It is her personal and professional character that stands out as distinctive qualities."

Legal 500 UK 2026 recognises Senior Associate Gabrielle Lintott as a Key Lawyer in the field of Employment - Employers: "Gabrielle Lintott is a joy to work with - her instructions are fastidiously prepared and get to the crux of a dispute. She is extremely responsive and hardworking and a real up and coming name in the field."

Reputational Issues in Workplace Investigations - Investigations Podcast

Anonymity in workplace investigations is a double-edged sword: it can protect whistleblowers but also complicate investigations and fairness. In the recording of our recent IFSEA webinar, we were joined by:

- Rachida el Johari, Sagiure Legal, Amsterdam 

- Mathilde Houet Weil, Weil & Associés, Paris

- Colleen Cleary, Simmons & Simmons, Dublin

- Andrew Pavlovic, CM Murray LLP, London

- Emma Bartlett, CM Murray LLP, London (Chair)

The key highlights covered in this webinar include:

Jurisdictional Differences:
- In Ireland, anonymous complaints may not require action, risking procedural issues.
 
- In France, anonymous statements are allowed but must be supported by other evidence; cultural sensitivities are significant.
 
- In the UK, anonymous complaints are accepted if detailed, but pose evidentiary challenges.
 
The Netherlands emphasises fair trial rights, making anonymous reporting complex.
 
Investigator & Regulator Challenges:
- Anonymous reports protect identities but make evidence gathering and transparency harder. Regulators like the SRA and BSB struggle to act on such complaints.
 
Practical Guidance:
- Investigators should build trust, follow clear protocols, and explain the process to all parties. Policies should discourage anonymity where possible, ensuring fair hearings and due process.
 
Bystander Role:
- Employees must be empowered to report misconduct, with clear escalation routes and cultural support.
- Organisations should review their investigation policies to balance confidentiality, fairness, and legal compliance.

If you have any questions relating to this recording or if you would like discuss work place investigations in further detail, please contact Partners Emma Bartlett or Andrew Pavlovic.

Anonymity in Workplace Investigations – Key Legal and Practical Issues   - Webinar Recording

Following the 6th IFSEA International Conference on Executive & Founder Issues in June 2025, we are delighted to share with you a follow up podcast on the session, ‘Navigating Reverse Discrimination: Addressing Concerns of Those Who Feel Diversity Targets are Working Against Them’. Listen to the recording here and see below for further details.

In this brilliant episode, the IFSEA annual conference panellists examine the legal frameworks, workplace practices and cultural contexts that shape evolving debates around equality and inclusion in the UK, Sweden and the US. This is essential listening for senior executives and founders seeking to lead inclusively while mitigating legal and reputational risk.
- Carl-Frederik Hedenström, CFH Law (Sweden) (Chair)
- Claire Dawson, BDBF (UK)
- Camille Olson, Seyfarth Shaw (Chicago & California, USA)

In particular, the panel discuss:
- What can we understand reverse discrimination to mean?
 
- Different jurisdictional approaches to positive action and affirmative action
 
- The ways in which particular contexts, such as political shifts and systemic bias, can influence leadership and employer policies and best practice
 
- How do these conversations underscore the tension between equality of treatment and actual equity in recruitment and representation?
 
- The importance of balancing legal compliance with cultural and reputational considerations

We also thank Regan O’Driscoll of Simmons & Simmons LLP (Ireland), who was unable to join the podcast, but attended as a panellist on the day of the conference and provided excellent insights.

Navigating Reverse Discrimination: Addressing Concerns of Those Who Feel Diversity Targets are Working Against Them

We are delighted to share the tenth episode of our Women in Sport Podcast, where we discuss developments, initiatives, and issues relating to women in sports and the associated legal implications.

In this episode, Partner Emma Bartlett and Associate Solicitor Mitchell Blythe are joined by a special guest, former England and Harlequins rugby player, Shaunagh Brown to discuss the following:

1.	Shaunagh’s sporting journey, from representing England in the hammer throw in the 2014 Commonwealth Games to representing England in the Rugby World Cup Final against New Zealand in 2021.
 
2.	The recent Red Roses historic victory over Canada in the Rugby World Cup Final 2025 at the Allianz Stadium.
 
3.	Being called to Parliament in 2023 to give evidence to the Women & Equalities Committee on sexism in sport.
 
4.	The importance of visibility and role models in sport.
 
5.	The future of women’s rugby and we name our stand-out superstars from the Rugby World Cup 2025. 

The Women in Sport Podcast: Shaunagh Brown, former England and Harlequins rugby player

In this audio recording of the webinar recording, Corinne Staves (Partner at CM Murray LLP), David Shufflebotham (Founder at PepUp Consulting) and Zulon Begum (Partner at CM Murray LLP) join webinar chair ​Rob Millard PhD (Director at Cambridge Strategy Group) to discuss how AI is redefining partner roles and governance models and how it demands new approaches to talent development, retention and succession. In particular, the panel discuss:

AI’s Impact on Legal Careers: How is AI changing workflows and career paths for legal professionals at all levels?
 
Skills for the Future: Are your teams developing the emotional intelligence, adaptability, digital literacy, entrepreneurial thinking and evaluative judgement needed to succeed?
 
Training and Leadership: Is your firm’s approach to training and mentorship keeping pace with rapid technological change?
 
Succession Planning Pressures: Firms must maintain strong talent pipelines and adapt culturally as AI, private equity and partner mobility reshape the landscape.
 
Evolving Partnership Structures: The fixed share and equity partnership landscape is shifting, requiring new strategies for performance, evaluation and recruitment.  PE investment is also a key driver for the adoption of technological solutions.
 
Regulatory and Ethical Challenges: Are you addressing bias in AI-driven decisions and ensuring client service, confidentiality and fair recruitment and promotion? Are regulators ensuring regulation keeps pace with technological advancements?
 
Retirement and Partner Exits: AI is influencing attitudes towards retirement; how proactive is your firm in assessing valuable partner performance/contribution in an evolving market and supporting transitions and succession?
 
Strategic Agility: Law firms need to be forward-looking and agile, investing in continuous development of people and processes to thrive in a changing market.

Succession Planning in the era of AI: Navigating new partnership challenges - Professional Practices Alliance (PPA) Webinar Recording

Welcome to the CM Murray LLP podcast channel where we discuss a wide range of topical issues in relation to partnership and employment law.

CM Murray LLP is a leading partnership, employment and regulatory law firm based in London. 

We advise US and UK law firms and partners, hedge fund and investment management partners, US and other multi-national employers, senior executives and founders on a range of UK partnership and employment law issues.

Measuring and Driving Diversity and Inclusion in Professional Services Firms

CM Murray LLP

Related tracks