Alex Novarese, the longstanding editor of the UK’s Legal Business magazine, has stepped down.

He announced his departure in a blog today in which he said he was also quitting journalism, although he said he would continue to work in the legal sector.

He took up the role in 2013 having moved across from Legal Week –  now part of Law.com –  where he was editor-in-chief.

Reflecting on his 20 years as a legal journalist he noted the rise of Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins to be the world’s most influential law firms, the rise of US law firms as a major force Europe and globally and the relative decline of the UK’s Magic Circle firms, especially given their failure “to make meaningful progress in the US”.

And while he questioned the extent to which recent initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion would be successful, he did see progress in the field of gender equality, noting ‘a perceptible change in the air in the last three years’. 

He pointed to the recent election of Georgia Dawson as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s first woman senior partner as evidence of this.

In a statement, the magazine’s owner, Legalease, which also publishes the Legal 500 directories, described Novarese as “an outstanding editor” under whose leadership the magazine had offered “sometimes outspoken comment, often provocative opinions, but always thought leadership in the true sense of the phrase”.

Legal Business lays claim to being the UK’s longest standing business of law title. Previous editors include Catrin Griffiths, who now edits The Lawyer, and Thomas Freeman, who is currently director of communications at Cooley.

Another notable legal journalist who has successfully moved into another role within the legal profession is David Lat, the founding editor of Above the Law, who is now managing director of legal recruiter Lateral Link’s New York office having also published Supreme Ambitions: A Novel.