This webinar, hosted by Meridian West’s Ben Kent, presented findings from the Client First research programme — a collaborative study with Queen Mary and King’s College London examining the client-handling skills of junior lawyers. Consultant Ethan Murphy walked through the key findings: communication of complex information remains the top challenge for associates; client-facing exposure beyond core project delivery (networking, pitches, seminars, relationship-building) is limited, with fewer than 30% of respondents attending industry events regularly; and — crucially — lawyers with greater client exposure reported significantly higher job satisfaction and firm alignment than those confined to technical delivery roles. A panel discussion with Roy Pierce (a former Baker McKenzie partner) and Emma Clifty (a law student and paralegal) explored the implications, with panellists agreeing that partners need to actively bring junior lawyers into client-facing situations rather than treating it as an optional extra, and that associates themselves can proactively seek out those opportunities.
