Senior figures provide personal perspectives on a changing industry for our 250th edition
Working with Salz
‘I worked for Anthony as an associate. In order of descending seniority, Phil Richards, me and Will Lawes were his “bag carriers”. It was an exciting time. During the 1980s our M&A team were the new kids on the block and the firm was undergoing a reputational transition from a traditional Bank of England adviser to a push-the-envelope transactional adviser. By the 1990s, Freshfields was the go-to firm.
‘Ants [Salz] has been a hugely important person in my career and indeed more widely – he is godfather to my eldest son, Max. When I was a young partner, he was in the star category with Nigel Boardman and David Cheyne. Watching him, it became a personal ambition to be in that category. When he retired, the next generation was ready to take on developing our M&A practice. We knew we had to build on the progress that partners like Anthony, together with Alan Peck and Gavin Darlington, had made and take Freshfields up to the next level.’
Mark Rawlinson, partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
A changing profession
‘When I started, marketing was called touting and it was against The Law Society’s rules to do it: today you have full marketing departments. Nowadays, for example, women are much less likely to be subjected to sexual harassment in law firms than 30 years ago and that’s because of proper management. The other side of the coin is that partners are more constrained in how they operate their practice and that is less of a good thing – but it is the price you pay to have a properly run firm.’
Nigel Boardman, partner, Slaughter and May
The future
‘The one-size-fits-all model is breaking down. Law firms have got to figure out what their business model is and what they specialise in. You’ll see pressure on the old apprenticeship model that will affect people coming through. The people I feel very sorry for are talented people coming through law school. That’s a change we’re only beginning to see now and trying to come to grips with.’
Tony Angel, co-chairman, DLA Piper
Something lost
‘It’s sad that many valued aspects of partnership culture have been lost, but it’s important not to be overly nostalgic because there was also a lot embedded in that traditional culture that was wrong. Old style patronage from distinguished partners may have been nicer, but women didn’t stand much of a chance in getting ahead.’
Laura Empson, director for the Centre for Professional Services, Cass Business School
‘Rising stars ask me: “How is it that you know so many people?” I have been doing the job a long time and until very recently transactions would be negotiated at physical meetings. Friendships and professional reputations were formed. It’s very different now that documents are negotiated via conference calls. It’s far more difficult to create a lasting impression on a conference call. Business interaction may be more efficient, but arguably certain things have been lost in the process, which can make it less fun. You don’t get to meet as many different characters. You would get to know people more closely and swap anecdotes. There is much less of that now.’
Mark Vickers, partner, Ashurst
Too isolated
‘The profession often looks at things from its own point of view without much objectivity or external perspective. There’s a natural tendency for law firms to become introspective and not outward-looking enough. Challenges include how the profession finds a way to train people and maintain real differentiation in style and quality of delivery in an environment where some clients can be reluctant to pay for junior lawyers. The chargeable hour will remain under siege. There’s also a debate about how you create a distinctive culture in a world where flexible, agile working is becoming more commonplace. How does a law firm operate? How do you guarantee clients quality and offer them something distinctive in this new world?’
Charles Martin, senior partner, Macfarlanes
The personal cost
‘The profession transformed beyond belief. For young lawyers, firms have to be really careful that they don’t exhaust them early in their career so they’re no longer able to provide the quality of service they should provide when they become mature lawyers. There’s a danger that they turn them off law. Many lawyers may then believe it’s not the life they wanted. It’s true in the States too. There are lawyers that can contribute at the right level but are not prepared to put law above everything else.’
Lord Woolf, Blackstone Chambers
Looking ahead
‘The forces that shape the market will be a continuation, but going further than we’re experiencing or expecting. Google Law: We will be able to put fairly complex questions into a sophisticated website and find the answers, which changes the nature of what a lawyer is. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chinese ownership of global law firms was a major feature of the market in future.’
Nicholas Cheffings, chair, Hogan Lovells