About
What The City Brief is, and who it is for
The City Brief is a short daily briefing on what is happening in the City of London — deals, disputes, collapses, floats and regulation — written for people building a career in commercial law.
Commercial awareness is easy to demand and hard to build. The financial press is excellent, but it is written for investors; law school teaches the doctrine, not the deals it lives in. We sit in the gap: we tell you what happened, and we show you the law doing the work underneath.
The formula
I. What happened
A plain-English account of the story — the facts, the numbers, the people, and why it is on the front pages.
II. The law angle
What the law cited actually does, in plain English — and the commercial consequences: the work the story creates for law firms, and what it means for the clients involved.
III. The interview angle
A realistic interview moment built on the story — usually a client scenario — with the balanced answer a strong candidate could give from the article alone.
Who it is for
Right now: law students and graduates building real commercial awareness — including for applications and assessment season. Over time, we will broaden out for enthusiasts, postgraduates and anyone who wants to understand how the City and the law fit together.
Editorial standards
We are neutral. We explain and analyse; we do not campaign. Where an issue is contested — and in commercial law it usually is — we set out the strongest version of both sides, because that is also what a good interview answer does.
We link to primary sources where we can, and we correct mistakes plainly and promptly.
Who we are
The City Brief is written and edited in London. A proper team page is coming; for now, you can reach us through any of the channels in the footer.