Ready for his close up

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Outspoken, opinionated and often right, K&L Gates head Peter Kalis has made financial transparency his latest mission. Legal Business talks to the Rhodes Scholar who runs a $1bn firm yet still can’t fit into the US legal establishment

‘I was embarrassed to be in the same profession as Dewey & LeBoeuf,’ states Peter Kalis, not without a sense of the dramatic. The chairman and global managing partner of K&L Gates is referring to the circumstances in which the aforementioned Wall Street giant last year became the largest-ever legal collapse amid acrimony and controversies over financial reporting.

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FFW and Travers Smith shake up senior roles

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City firms Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) and Travers Smith have overhauled senior management, with each seeing new appointments to the top roles.

Head of technology and outsourcing Michael Chissick has been named FFW’s new managing partner, replacing Matthew Lohn, who will take up the re-introduced role of senior partner.

Chissick said: ‘I am leading the firm through a transformation. We want to move away from the negative market perception and create a firm culture that is modern and forward thinking.’

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Geek Chic – Bristows

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Home to more well-mannered boffins in its all-equity partnership than you can shake a stick at and with no international offices, Bristows is an unconventional LB100 hero. LB meets the co-managing partners of the firm that has outclassed many in the last five years.

You know you’re at a different kind of law firm when you discover that every meeting room in Bristows’ offices is named after a famous scientist. On a miserable, wet December morning, co-managing partners Iain Redford (left) and Mark Watts (right) are sitting in a room named after Michael Faraday, who discovered how magnetic forces could affect the flow of an electrical current. It’s appropriate because there’s no denying that the forces at play at Bristows these days are compelling.

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Picking up Field Fisher

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After years in the mid-market wilderness, Field Fisher Waterhouse is finally ready for a revolution. It wants to grow internationally and shake up its meandering management. The right suitor might just find a little sweetheart

The last 12 months have not been easy for Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW). The acrimonious failure of merger talks with LG was followed by discussions with Osborne Clarke (OC) that leaked rather earlier than hoped. Then the firm’s newly appointed managing partner Matthew Lohn, tasked with turning the firm around, suffered a family bereavement that has taken him out of the business for a prolonged leave of absence.

Add to that the departure of the firm’s much-liked chief operating officer Charlie Keeling, a public squabble over the way the LG discussions ended, and a drop in PEP of 20%, and it’s clear this is a firm in need of a boost.

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Clarke Willmott: running to stand still

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Stephen Rosser became Clarke Willmott’s chief executive two years ago as the firm really started to suffer a post-boom hangover. Since then, the bottom line has gone from bad to worse. It’s time for more radical thinking 

Stephen Rosser, Clarke Willmott’s chief executive, ran the London Marathon in 3 hours 59 minutes this year. While there probably aren’t many in law firm management who could run 26.2 miles, let alone in less than four hours, it is perhaps the least of his challenges. Completing a long distance race takes dedication, stamina and the ability to withstand a certain amount of pain – abilities that Rosser will need in abundance if he is to make Clarke Willmott competitive again.

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Dewey management in denial as exits continue

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Management at Dewey & LeBoeuf has reacted defensively to widespread partner exits in 2012, contending the firm’s position is ‘strong’ and that it will ‘meet its financial targets for the year’.

Dewey has already seen a mass exodus of partners from its business since the start of the year, with almost 70 partners having departed – one of the highest number of partner departures in such a short timeframe.

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Bevan Brittan – Don’t Look Back

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Bevan Brittan’s new managing partner began work on 1 May, taking over a firm in a much stronger position than in 2008. While Duncan Weir is keen to move on and face up to future challenges, he will ensure his recent experience in helping turn the firm around will not be wasted.

Bevan Brittan wasn’t ready to participate in this feature initially. When we asked to speak to outgoing chief executive Andrew Manning and new managing partner Duncan Weir for our April issue, we were asked to hold off for a few weeks.

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Shaw abruptly steps down from Dundas leadership

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Dundas & Wilson’s managing partner Donald Shaw unexpectedly announced in March that he is stepping down from his post midway through his second term.

It is unclear why Shaw stepped down, however suggestions from former partners and the market are that partners were unhappy with his management.

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Weightmans – Feet on the ground

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After four years of consecutive revenue growth and two transformative mergers in 2011, Weightmans is our National/Regional Firm of the Year. However, there’s no chance of any of it going to the managing partner’s head.

Weightmans’ Patrick Gaul (pictured) is as laid back and straightforward as managing partners come. In an unmistakable scouse accent reminiscent of Ringo Starr, his answers are economical and precise. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and, in a trait quite rare among managing partners, is very low on hyperbole.

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