‘What would you do if you weren’t afraid? When I’m making big decisions, there’s always fear attached. I try to put the fear aside and say: “What would I do if not afraid?” Last year when Natasha Harrison still ran Boies Schiller Flexner’s (BSF) London office, she revealed her mantra in conversation with Legal Business. When news broke in January that she and the majority of her disputes team were leaving BSF to start a new litigation-only firm, Pallas Partners, such thinking must have been at the front of her mind.
While Harrison’s intention to leave was probably the market’s worst-kept secret, it didn’t stop the event sending ripples around the City. On 28 January the die was cast. Harrison and partners Tracey Dovaston, Fiona Huntriss, Will Hooker, Neil Pigott and Matt Getz were exiting en masse for Pallas.
It was kind of a big deal. Such was Harrison’s influence at the firm, she was put on track to succeed David Boies, the firm’s high-profile chair. Fielding the views of litigators since, it is clear that, for many, the charismatic Harrison was the embodiment of BSF’s London office.
The prognosis among market commentators for the litigation leader’s London office is not rosy. How can the outpost recover from being all but gutted? Does it even want to come back? Perhaps surprisingly, BSF’s leadership is bullish. Matthew Schwartz, its New York-based managing partner, insists: ‘The first question we asked ourselves, which took 30 seconds to answer, was: “Do we want to stay in London?” And the answer was an emphatic “yes.”’
Resurrection
The original vision for BSF’s 2013 London launch was to establish a City offshoot that would acutely reflect firm-wide capabilities in High Court-level litigation, international arbitration and cross-border investigations work.
Senior sources with knowledge of the launch maintain it was propelled by just one key client of the firm, Barclays, accompanied by a focus on extending services to pre-existing clients. It was planned to act as a bridge for clients to the UK, Europe and eventually Asia.
BSF conducted an extensive search for a suitable leader, and it is no shock that they landed on Harrison, who only four years prior had turned down the opportunity to open the London office of another US law firm. By this point Harrison had established a strong reputation at Bingham McCutchen, honing her skills on mammoth pieces of litigation such as the Elektrim bondholder dispute. She especially earned repute for representing investors following the collapse of Iceland’s banks after the 2008 financial crisis. BSF eyed a High Court practice born of that experience.
‘The first question we asked ourselves, which took 30 seconds to answer, was: “Do we want to stay in London?” And the answer was an emphatic “yes.”’
Matthew Schwartz, BSF
John Reynolds, partner at Avonhurst, believes BSF made the right call: ‘Natasha gave Boies a presence in the market. You can’t just set up shop in London, it takes relationship building and people on the ground. Quality individuals, claims and results. Boies picked a really good individual in Natasha and she made a significant impact.’
While the London iteration of BSF achieved its aims in building practices out of High Court litigation (with Harrison able to transfer a substantive book of work born out of her Icelandic practice), international arbitration and cross-border investigations, there were difficulties. According to senior sources involved, despite the best efforts of Harrison and her team, BSF was largely unable to effect the vision through transferring work and clients from the US to the UK.
The City practice also had a patchy record in retaining arbitration talent, one of Boies’ traditional selling points. Just two years after joining, veteran arbitrator Wendy Miles QC left for Debevoise & Plimpton in 2017. Her replacement, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF)’ Dominic Roughton, then left for another US rival in 2021 – Quinn Emanuel.
According to a senior City litigation partner, Roughton’s exit was a major reversal – his practice was said to be worth a significant proportion of the office’s turnover. There were other notable departures, too.
In March 2021 dual arbitration and litigation partner (and Harrison’s close colleague) Kenneth Beale left for King & Spalding. At this stage, rivals looked on with alarm. One high-profile litigation partner at a US firm notes: ‘We actually didn’t expect Boies to make it past 2021.’
Others suggest it was this spate of exits that accelerated Harrison’s decision to leave. A Magic Circle disputes partner says: ‘They’ve been beset by a number of problems certainly in terms of partners. Naturally people fell away and led to someone like Natasha wanting to branch out.’
This is firmly rebuffed by Harrison herself however, who insists the move was solely motivated ‘by the opportunity to be the architect of my own firm, consistent with my value system.’
Optimists might say the silver lining for BSF’s London operation is the chance to start over again with fresh blood and a rejuvenated strategy. BSF claims that the two partners who did not follow Harrison, arbitration specialist David Hunt and litigation, arbitration and white-collar expert Prateek Swaika, were chosen to stay on as they bought into the plan for London to replicate the firm’s wider strengths. Other sources interviewed say that Hunt and Swaika were offered partnership as an incentive to stay.
Eyebrows have been raised – both Hunt and Swaika are as junior as a partner can be, having been made up during the exit of Harrison and her team. Reynolds acknowledges the mix of challenge and opportunity they face: ‘It’s not fair to ask people of that level to build up an office – I’m sure they’ll be calling headhunters. It’s an unenviable and enviable task. I remember when I was quite junior I was tasked with running HSF’s New York office, and to be fair, that was the making of me.’
Tom Hibbert, global head of commercial disputes at RPC, takes a similar view: ‘This is an extreme example of how difficult it is for a firm to move between generations. Everything is based around the founding fathers, it’s incredibly difficult to move on from something driven by the actions of two or three people. My sense is that has been a massive problem for Boies.’
Despite concerns from others, Schwartz says the firm does not intend to burden the pair with undue responsibility: ‘David and Prateek are young and upcoming, and they have just been made partner. We will probably make some more senior hires, but they are important young leaders, and they will grow into those roles. They will help us identify the right people to bring in.’
And to give them their dues, partners familiar with Hunt or Swaika are generous with praise. Reynolds worked with Hunt at White & Case, and recalls him fondly: ‘Hunt left me at White & Case when he was three years PQE, he was a fantastic associate. A very good lawyer and a great human being as a well.’ Another senior litigation partner describes the pair as ‘bright young lawyers.’
There is no question that it will be a weighty task to rebuild the firm’s London reputation. However, there is optimism both internally and among peers that with a similarly captivating leader installed to harness junior talent, progress can be made. Schwartz is not shy of ambition: ‘If we’re not at a headcount of about 20 in a few years’ time I would be surprised. It’s a beautiful office space in London for 20 to 25 lawyers.’
Socially savvy
In February, more details of the Pallas launch emerged. Pallas will be an alternative business structure that has the potential to let non-legal staff members enter the partnership. Its offices on King William Street opened under a two-year lease, and Harrison confirmed that while she will assume the role of managing partner, she will predominantly focus on fee-earning.
Harrison has since declared that all her clients from BSF have followed her to Pallas. This has already translated to a decent pipeline of work for the fledgling firm. It boasts a High Court trial concerning Mozambique bonds, a group action on behalf of investors seeking redress from Credit Suisse in relation to Greensill Capital investments, and a ‘very significant international arbitration’ set for hearings in May.
Outlining Pallas’ pitch, Harrison says: ‘I believe there’s a meaningful gap in the market at the very top end for a litigation boutique. Demand is growing for a number of reasons, but one of the key factors is the sophistication of clients now, who really unpackage the legal services they receive and pick the best in class for each piece of work. Increasingly that means they will go to a specialist boutique.’
Pallas has set challenging targets related to ESG. The firm will dedicate 5% of billable time to pro bono work, it aims to have diversity parity by 2025, and be carbon neutral the same year. This is matched by a desire to establish an ESG practice, something the firm has already made good strides towards by its pro bono representation of ClientEarth, as it challenges the board of Shell over its alleged climate risk failings.
Anyone who knows Harrison well – and, thanks to her natural aptitude for self-promotion, that group numbers many influential litigators and corporate partners – will say that such ambitious thinking is par for the course. Her legal credentials are unimpeachable, but what captures the attention more is what one London litigation heavyweight describes as a ‘social media savviness.’
The London disputes clique will be well aware of Harrison’s slick LinkedIn presence, and her dedication to publicising the achievements of herself and her team. Most weeks, there are at least a few posts celebrating the work of the firm, and timely contributions on topics ranging from International Women’s Day to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Hibbert, a long-time friend and associate of Harrison, shares some good-natured views on her profile: ‘Natasha does have a personal brand, I’ve never seen someone so active on LinkedIn despite having such a huge practice! She falls into the category of someone who would be successful everywhere they go. All the work went with her which is very indicative.’
Another partner, this time at a US litigation rival, admires Harrison’s brand, saying it is a key differentiator for recruitment: ‘Natasha has done a very good job in terms of PR and her own profile. If BSF does manage to get a number of people on board it will be difficult for them. They will be following in the footsteps of Natasha’s departure. I struggle to see it becoming a big player in London again in the same way.’
‘Natasha does have a personal brand, I’ve never seen someone so active on LinkedIn despite having such a huge practice! She falls into the category of someone who would be successful everywhere they go.’ Tom Hibbert, RPC
The ‘personal brand’ suggestion tickles Harrison: ‘I always thought I was rubbish with LinkedIn! It’s nice to hear I have good branding but it’s not just about me, we have a group of strong partners who are all successful in their own right. I hope what we have communicated over the launch will be attractive to recruits, but we’ve got to deliver more than on LinkedIn.’
Proving the point, there was plenty of praise for the likes of Dovaston, who was described as ‘a great coup’ for Pallas by Reynolds. But Reynolds is under no illusions as to the ringleader: ‘it was always Natasha’s show – the fact she managed to take all but two partners with her is the best evidence of that. It’s Boies Schiller but with a different name on the door.’
Headwinds
There is every reason to believe that Pallas will be prosperous. It is not truly starting from scratch, benefitting from an experienced bench of partners and starting with an enviable book of clients. Right now the leverage is a bit out of kilter – currently there are six partners to seven associates and one counsel, so hiring at the junior end will surely be a priority. On this front, Harrison says the firm has already had one offer accepted by an associate, with a view to hiring two more before long.
It is a good time to start a disputes firm in London – across the City, contentious lawyers are riding a tidal wave of litigation that shows no sign of diminishing. While disputes departments of all varieties are busy right now, Pallas may benefit from leaning into the class action space – the firm signalled as much by declaring upon launch it would ‘work closely’ with litigation funders, and already has a considerable group action on its books with the Greensill claims against Credit Suisse. The market is awash with these cash-rich funders looking for a home for their investments, and there seems to be no shortage of group claims to choose from.
As Alan Watts, global co-head of class actions at HSF notes: ‘Often firms will open in the UK now on the back of just one big class action case. There’s certainly no shortage of claimant firms, and similarly no shortage of people willing to give them money to do so.’
These same market conditions are also true for BSF however, which has high hopes of returning to somewhere near its former glory. As Schwartz concludes: ‘Just as we did years ago, we identify in London a real opportunity for a lot of people. It’s an opportunity to build something, not quite from the ground up, but with not too many headwinds. And we’ll be doing it with a very strong disputes-only brand, a global team, and a great roster of clients.’ LB