Coming soon
The Unbillable Podcast
Episode 01The Business Case for Not Telling Clients What Things Cost
Pricing confidence is strongest when neither side can verify the number.
In this episode, we discuss why law firms remain so reluctant to tell clients what legal work actually costs. Joining us is Alistair Fenwick, Global Head of Pricing Integrity at Pemberton Rook, following the accidental circulation of a confidential rate card labelled “What We'll Accept If They Ask Twice.” We examine what that document reveals about list prices, discounts and the increasingly fragile distinction between a fee and an opening position.
We also explore why “It depends” survives even when everyone knows the answer, what happens when procurement asks for a clear scope and a reliable estimate, and whether pricing transparency is compatible with the partnership model. Alistair assures us the aim is not to keep clients in the dark, before explaining that the cost of appearing on the podcast will be confirmed after a preliminary scoping exercise.
Guest: Alistair Fenwick, Global Head of Pricing Integrity, Pemberton Rook
Episode 05Men Deserve Maternity Leave Too. Possibly More.
A generous policy designed around the career disadvantages women have been explaining for years, provided the beneficiaries are men.
In this episode, we discuss Pemberton Rook's groundbreaking decision to offer unlimited maternity leave to male partners after years of listening to women explain the career consequences of having children. We're joined by Dominic Ashcombe, Senior Partner and Chair of the Men's Family Advancement Committee, to examine how the firm identified a problem affecting women and found a way to deliver the solution to senior men.
We explore the difference between maternity leave and a partnership benefit that protects origination credit, why the equivalent provision for women remains subject to business-case review, and how progressive policies are assessed once they threaten someone else's compensation. Dominic outlines the committee's next priority: understanding the motherhood pay penalty without making any decisions until the men have finished discussing it.
Guest: Dominic Ashcombe, Senior Partner and Chair of the Men’s Family Advancement Committee, Pemberton Rook
Episode 10Hallucinating Partners: When Human Error Becomes an AI Problem
What happens when the only inaccurate claim is that the machine made the mistake?
In this episode, we discuss the growing convenience of blaming artificial intelligence for things senior partners have done themselves. Joining us is Felicity Ranscombe, Director of Partner Reputation and Narrative Management at Pemberton Rook, following the firm's retreat scandal in which Felix Dacre's AI assistant, Nearly, accurately transcribed a conversation he believed he was having with the balance sheet.
We explore how an embarrassing human incident became an AI-governance emergency, why a correct transcript can be described as a hallucination, and what a crisis-communications team does when the technology's logs are rather more reliable than the partner's recollection. Felicity explains the firm's commitment to human oversight, although the question of who was overseeing the human remains under review.
Guest: Felicity Ranscombe, Director of Partner Reputation and Narrative Management, Pemberton Rook
Episode 07Culture Is Too Important to Leave to Employees
An important conversation about corporate culture with somebody who has ensured employees cannot interfere with its definition.
In this episode, we discuss whether a law firm's culture is something employees experience or something the partnership gets to define. We're joined by Roland Whitford, Partner and Chair of Human Culture Oversight at Bletchley Frost, to explore the firm's AI Culture Director, FELICITY, which was trained on years of partner speeches, values statements and retreat presentations rather than the inconvenient accounts of employees.
We look at what happens when staff feedback is treated as a communications problem, how a complaint about workload becomes an opportunity to explain the workload more positively, and why management believes culture surveys work best without too much lived experience. Roland explains how FELICITY can confidently report excellent psychological safety, even when the people supposedly enjoying it have not been consulted.
Guest: Roland Whitford, Partner and Chair of Human Culture Oversight, Bletchley Frost