The review by Herbert Smith of its litigation strategy, which was revealed by this magazine last week, comes at a pivotal time for the litigation market. It is not, after all, every day that a firm – Herbert Smith again – hires a brace of QCs from the Bar. While they are interesting in their own right, the hires are symptomatic of a more fundamental shake-up.

Two recent Legal Week Benchmarker surveys of senior corporate counsel have thrown light on the current state of play.