A Year of Momentum, Milestones and Meaningful Moments

As we wrap up 2025, I’ve been reflecting on what has been one of the most energising years for MD Communications – and for me personally.

January marked my return to work full-time after Maisie arrived in August 2024. I came back overflowing with ideas (arguably too many), and thanks to an exceptional team who held everything together so brilliantly while I was away and who welcomed me back with genuine excitement, we hit the ground running. Within weeks, we were already hosting our first event of the year. Below are just some of the highlights that made 2025 such a memorable chapter.

Main highlights

The Legal 5K

Our second Legal 5k charity race took place in April, with over 600 runners from across the sector, resulting in some personal bests plus thousands of pounds raised for special needs charity, Skylarks.

Slaughter and May retained the fastest law firm firm trophy (is a threepeat on the cards in 2026?). Fastest man was Matthew Battensby of Burges Salmon, fastest woman was Deirdre Healy of Slaughter and May, and Steve McGuigan of VWV was crowned fastest Managing Partner. Our own James Hayhurst took third in the Masters category.

What Lies Ahead: 3rd Edition

annual state-of-the-nation report returned with fresh insights on what keeps legal leaders awake at night. We found that the UK legal sector is overwhelmingly positive about the growing role of AI, while greater UK government stability, giving hope of a ‘reset’ with the EU, contributed to optimism around what 2025 would bring. Top song choices that summed up 2024 included Firework by Katy Perry and Riders on the Storm by The Doors.

Roundtable Series

This year’s Ivy breakfast discussions included:

• AI – Opportunity or Threat? with Rt Hon Damian Collins, previously DCMS Parliamentary Under Secretary of State.
• Advancing DEI in the legal sector
• How to Increase the Number of Women Managing Partners and Mentor the Next Generation, an idea inspired by a LinkedIn post by Jo Farmer (Lewis Silkin)
• Is Purpose still Relevant for the Legal Sector? (pictured) – led by Matt Meyer, Managing Partner of Kingsley Napley

We even experimented with a crossover session bringing ad land and the legal sector together, with attendees from Saatchi & Saatchi, Uncommon and Pablo – all of whom agreed the legal sector was way cooler than they thought!

My favourite was the breakfast focused on ‘Is Purpose Still Relevant?’, with Matt Meyer, Managing Partner at Kingsley Napley, with the entire table enthralled and engaged and wanting more. So much so that we are running a follow up Question Time event on March 10. If you’d like to be considered to be in the audience, please contact nick.pollard@mdcomms.co.uk

Events that sparked big conversations

Meet the Media: January Edition

We opened the year with a Question Time-style session featuring four leading journalists – Eduardo Reyes (Law Society Gazette), Matt Byrne (The Lawyer), Victoria Macdonald (Channel 4), and Sean O’Grady (The Independent) and a hand-picked audience to explore crisis communications and the media’s role in shaping high-stakes legal stories.

Meet the Media: Autumn Edition

Our second instalment brought together Christine Braamskamp (London MP, Jenner & Block) and top journalists including Victoria Macdonald (Channel 4 News), Matt Byrne (The Lawyer) and Ed Reyes (Law Society Gazette) for a lively debate on crisis, culture and the profession’s public image.

Soho Farmhouse retreat

Our series of women’s events culminated in a retreat in September for a hand-picked group of 10 female leaders in the sector. We shared what keeps us awake at night, the resilience it takes to lead, the coping strategies we lean on, and the struggles we so rarely admit out loud.

Research, thought leadership & big stages

Old Bailey Panel: Transparency and the Courts

A personal highlight was joining my friend Joshua Rozenberg on stage, alongside BBC Senior Correspondent Sanchia Berg, for a thought-provoking discussion at the Old Bailey.

Legal Geek

Our Head of Brand, James Hayhurst, spoke at both Legal Geek Growth and the main Legal Geek Conference, sharing the evolution of The Parents Promise, powered pro bono by MD Communications.

IBA LFMC Academy for Leaders

I had the privilege of returning to the faculty for the fourth year, leading a session on communications for international growth.

Community, campaigns & making an impact

The Parents Promise: Education Campaign

The new initiative was launched in Parliament in September with the backing of Sir Andrew McFarlane. The resources for schools and parents, supported by all the school unions, have already been downloaded 2,000+ times. This followed the incredibly successful 2023 campaign which led to household brands including Unilever, Metrobank, NatWest, and Tesco changing their HR policies to recognise separation as a life event. In 2026, we will be launching the next phase of the campaign involving family law teams in the legal sector.

IBA Raising the Bar: Women in Law project

We continue to work pro bono on the the IBA’s ambitious global project, the largest of its kind in the sector,  running since 2021 and examining women’s representation across all levels, including the most senior, of the legal profession. I spoke on the diversity panel at the IBA Toronto which looked at this project.

Supporting Skylarks

This brilliant special needs charity has provided us with much-needed support for our disabled daughter Jessica and is our charity partner for the Legal 5K, with all profits after event costs going to the charity.

Taking MD Communications global

IBA Toronto

Our 14th IBA was a busy one. I spoke on multiple panels, on crisis comms at the High Tide conference before the main event began, as well as on the diversity panel led by Sara Carnegie. Our roundtable event to launch our new organic growth course had MPs from all over the world discussing how to build long term client relationships and the key behaviours that drive business development. We also launched our new Navigating Global Growth playbook for independent law firms.

Ivy Party

And of course, we welcomed friends and clients from around the world to our annual Ivy Party, now in its 8th year at the venue with music from Ed Reyes of the Law Society Gazette and Matt Byrne and his band from the Lawyer. There was a queue for the photo booth, the champagne flowed and we danced until the early hours. Check out the photos!

Move over Love Actually – the only movie you need to watch this Christmas is this one. Did you make an appearance in the party film?

Looking ahead to 2026

January will bring the launch of our next What Lies Ahead report, a global barometer for the profession, featuring Christine Braamskamp writing the foreword, George Hannah from Lewis Silkin writing the afterword, with a line-up of international commentators.

And the Legal 5k 2026 is officially set for Thursday 23 April (St George’s Day!). We can’t wait to see you on the start line. Save the date and sign up will start on 6 January, in time to burn off the mince pies and turkey. New prizes include fastest firm outside the top 100 and fastest barristers’ chambers.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful festive season. Thank you for being part of our journey this year.

Building Relationships that Last: new BD course

Our new organic growth course for law firms, as part of our international growth offering, is part of our goal to drive relationship-led business development. Led by James Hayhurst (ex-Unilever/ad agency) and Justin Portaz (ex-Jenner CMO), it focuses on building relationships that last: personal brand, client loyalty, and the principles of business development. Contact us for details.

In case you missed it: Latest news and blogs

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In an article drawn from our latest research paper, Wolf Theiss Partner & IBA ERF Co-Chair Anna Dabrowska explains why wellbeing and culture are shaping the future of independent law firms.

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Director Magazine

CEO Melissa Davis is widely featured in the latest edition of the Institute of Directors’ magazine, looking at misinformation and crisis management.

“Fake news travels faster than due diligence,” says Melissa.

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Navigating Global Growth

Our report draws on insights from global law firms, revealing how their networks, business development strategies and client service models drive both competition and collaboration.

When it comes to global growth, it’s no longer about scale or office count – it’s about trust, agility, and the quality of relationships. If you’d like to discuss your international growth ambitions and seek support with a strategy, contact us.

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