1. July/August 2016 Legal Business 57
The vision of a truly global legal business
offering a seamless service to multinational
clients is an alluring one for law firm leaders.
But achieving a global presence and making
it work in practice is a challenge. According
to PwC’s annual survey 2015, the UK
continues to subsidise international offices
with UK profit per partners far outweighing
those in international offices.
Not that this has stopped firms seeking
out a global presence. The London market is
saturated – finding new sources of revenue
from outside the UK ranks high in the
priorities of managing partners. At the same
time, it is not about growth for growth’s
sake, but about launching in new markets
to meet specific and targeted client needs.
The challenge is to balance wise investment
against a desire for truly global reach.
This also means that securing the right
talent to support international growth is
of paramount importance. We have seen
a growing demand for business services
professionals who can take the sophistication
of management teams in the UK legal market
and apply it to an international setting. Skills
in business development, brand building and
operational efficiency are in high demand.
Law firms increasingly recognise the value
that business talent can bring to aligning
strategy, culture and values across many
different jurisdictions.
BUSINESS SKILLS GO LARGE
We are seeing investment in business
services roles in Europe and beyond – Africa,
the Middle East and Asia are proving
particularly popular. In these relatively
early days of business growth overseas,
we find that roles often allow business
services candidates more responsibility more
quickly, and with considerable partner and
client contact, than those on offer in
UK firms with larger business services
teams. An international move can be a
tempting proposition for a candidate who
wants to get the right experience to rise
through the ranks fast.
Finding good talent internationally is
difficult, though. Overseas teams are often
small (or non-existent) so talented candidates
must hit the ground running, combining
sophisticated business skills with bags of
initiative and excellent communication skills
to liaise effectively with local and other global
teams. Unless the relocation is to Australia,
they may need fluency in the language too.
This isn’t an easy mix of skills to source.
It doesn’t help either that many firms
are not offering the generous relocation
packages they once were. And fewer benefits
in different regions (maternity leave of only
ten weeks, for example) mean that relocation
often only appeals to younger candidates
with fewer responsibilities.
Not surprisingly perhaps, some firms have
responded to the relocation/talent sourcing
challenge by avoiding it altogether. Instead
they have incorporated ‘international’ and
‘global’ into the titles of more senior positions
in UK business teams. Whether all of these
roles have a truly international remit, however,
may be up for debate – some involve more
direct international interaction (and travel)
than others. There’s also a potential perception
problem here – of ideas being imposed from
‘head office’ with little understanding or
experience of regional and cultural differences.
Firms need to be wary such resourcing does
not support an ‘us and them’ mentality that
works against building a truly global brand.
BRAND THINKING
For brand is critical here. And yet, according
to recent research from Acritas, few firms
have achieved a global brand status. In its
‘Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index 2015’,
the top five most recognised global law firm
brands are Baker & McKenzie, DLA Piper,
Clifford Chance, Norton Rose Fulbright and
Hogan Lovells. Beyond the top five, only
Latham & Watkins was thought to have
‘truly global brand coverage’ according to the
clients surveyed.
Interestingly, in commenting on the Brand
Index findings, Acritas chief executive Lisa
Hart-Shepherd said: ‘The firms that are seeing
the largest growth have all engaged non-legal
business professionals to help the direction
and execution of their strategy. It is this type of
firm that we see making the most progress in
growing their firm’s brand equity.’
Law firms know that the UK legal market
is now full of sophisticated business services
talent that can help support the development
of this international presence. But getting such
resourcing right is an on-going challenge.
Technology will continue to help. Tools
including social networking platforms are
allowing teams to collaborate more effectively
across different offices, and more flexible
working will allow people to operate better
across different time zones (it is not sustainable
to expect a UK-based employee to work UK
hours while also co-ordinating meetings/calls
with teams in Australia, Asia and/or the US).
We think that global operations will also
be helped as more firms recruit business
talent at leadership levels – in chief operating
officer and chief executive roles. These are
people who are ideally placed to see the big
picture and who can dedicate their time to
aligning business strategy with operational
efficiency across all offices. It is no surprise to
us that Acritas found that firms that employ
business professionals are making more
progress and growth than others. We have
long known the high value of good business
managers in law.
Resourcing the right business talent will
only be more important as law firms continue
to compete to gain their global credentials.
Successful recruitment in a global world
will depend on a well-thought-out business
strategy combined with a willingness to
think more broadly and flexibly about ways to
attract talent that can drive positive change.
Harnessing business talent for global growth
Totum’s Deborah Gray on achieving a global presence
For more information, please contact:
Deborah Gray, founding partner, Totum
Email: deborah.gray@totumpartners.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7332 6332
BUSINESS SERVICESIN ASSOCIATION WITH
Sponsored briefing
‘The challenge is
to balance wise
investment against
a desire for truly
global reach.’
Deborah Gray, Totum