‘AI is the bandwagon of the day. The last six months or so have seen an explosion of law firms talking about the impact of AI, but not really working out whether it is even a good or bad thing.’ John Banister, Wiggin
From AI to economic headwinds to flexible working patterns, leaders at Legal Business 100 firms give us their views on the past financial year and look ahead to the next
Still thriving
‘In the current climate, there’s increasing complexity on the transactional front. It’s in those kinds of big, complex things, with angles in regulatory, financing, and more, where a firm like ours thrives.’
Rick van Aerssen, global managing partner, Freshfields
All aboard
‘AI is the bandwagon of the day. The last six months or so have seen an explosion of law firms talking about the impact of AI, but not really working out whether it is even a good or bad thing. I see a lot of firms spending a lot of money on things that I am not sure will drive an increase in productivity or even an increase in services to clients. There is a place for it, but it’s about identifying where that place is.’
John Banister, chief executive, Wiggin
Adding value
‘The ever-changing regulatory backdrop of laws across very different jurisdictions makes the role of lawyers more valuable – but it also makes giving accurate and tailored advice trickier. We really listen to clients and governments, and look ahead to see what’s on the horizon and what that means for our clients’ business models.’
Penny Angell, UK managing partner, Hogan Lovells
Real threats
‘The threats are largely economic. The UK economy has been struggling to generate growth. And inflation’s proving a bit stubborn to get down, relative to some other countries. Obviously, we need growth and we need to get inflation down if we are able to see businesses prosper.’
Andrew Blain, managing partner, Shepherd and Wedderburn
Survival of the fittest
‘The biggest threat is cyber security. The race to stay ahead in that space is one that must run frequently. Firms are making bad decisions and choices and there will be winners and losers. Technology becomes too important, and the danger is that you lose your market share if you don’t keep up with the pace of the change.’
Martin Hirst, managing partner, Foot Anstey
Predictions fail
‘My prediction is that predictions are always wrong. We will have some areas that will continue to be unaffected by market conditions. Regulatory will continue, disputes will continue. The turbulence that we are going through tends to generate work in those areas.’
Edmund Reed, managing partner, Travers Smith
Price of everything
‘All firms saw their cost base significantly increase over the last financial year, with higher inflation and rising costs, coupled with continued investments in technology. We’re not immune from those cost pressures. We were very happy to have again achieved double-digit revenue growth and to have kept PEP close to our best-ever result last year.’
Paul Jenkins, global chief executive, Ashurst
Sitting comfortably?
‘I’m not naturally somebody who gravitates towards feeling comfortable. I always want the firm to grow and to adopt a growth mentality. So I wouldn’t say I’m comfortable. I would say that I believe that the firm is ambitious to grow, and that ambition is being implemented as we speak.’
Shane Gleghorn, UK managing partner, Taylor Wessing
Great expectations
‘Client expectations are always high and they’re right to be high because we’re talking about the top of the market. Lawyers are expensive and they should expect a lot. The expectations are always high and the timelines are always tight.’
Jeremy Hoyland, managing partner, Simmons & Simmons