Stewarts, Mishcon de Reya and Weil, Gotshal & Manges have emerged among the top-performing law firms for client service in the UK, according to brand new Legal 500 research assessing what clients really think about their external advisers.
The trio are among a host of leading US and UK firms to have been recognised by our new research project, which is the culmination of one of the most comprehensive surveys of law firm clients ever.
Thousands of clients contributed feedback last autumn on the firms they work with in the UK, rating firms on a range of criteria – including billing practices, team quality, industry knowledge and consistency of service – on a scale from ‘not good’ to ‘exceptional’.
The process collected more than 200,000 scores, which we have used to create a list of the top performers in five categories: major US firms in London; UK top 25 firms; UK large firms; UK mid-size; and the global elite, which is defined by Legal Business as firms with revenue of at least £500m and average profits per equity partner of at least £1m.
The scores of all firms within these groupings were then combined to create an overall list of the top ten firms for client service delivery in the UK.
At a time when the client is increasingly king, the results provide a clear indication of the firms setting the pace in the eyes of those using their services.
Firms with a distinct focus score well, with disputes specialist Stewarts and disputes and private client focused Mishcons, private client and media firm Harbottle & Lewis and insurance leader Kennedys all sitting within the overall top ten.
Commenting on the findings, Stewarts managing partner John Cahill says: ‘We are a litigation-only practice. Our clients are often faced with high-value and high-stakes disputes, and they value expertise, experience and judgement on litigation and – to an extent – on wider strategic issues.’
Clients want genuine ownership of the relationship by the partner and the team. When firms get bigger, people may think it’s just an institutional relationship, but clients still really want personal care. They also want dialogue in between matters. Lawyers must not disappear because their transaction has ended.
Elliot Moss, Mishcon de Reya
‘When you’re neither the biggest nor the smallest, differentiation is very important,’ adds Mishcons partner and business development director Elliot Moss on the firm’s USP.
With Kirkland & Ellis and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton joining Weil in the overall top ten chart, US firms’ City arms also put in a strong performance.
Weil London head Mike Francies believes that, despite some US firms’ growing scale in the City, the fact most are not trying to be all things to all people can serve as a competitive advantage. In addition, he argues that US firms have traditionally been more focused on the client than some UK firms.
‘The US model has always been very focused on clients,’ he says. ‘Big UK firms are sometimes building more of an accounting model – “here’s the brand and you can rely on it”. It’s more about the firm than the client.
‘Another possible aspect when you look at US firms in London is that, by definition, every time we get a lateral we’re benefiting from the hire of someone ambitious who thinks they can build a practice and is no longer doing that at their UK firm.’
Other highly-rated firms across the tables include Shearman & Sterling, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Slaughter and May, Linklaters and Hogan Lovells in the global elite grouping, and Fieldfisher, Taylor Wessing and Irwin Mitchell in the UK top 25.
Looking broadly at what makes good client service, irrespective of firm size or location, Mishcons’ Moss stresses the need for a personal service and continued involvement, even when matters have finished.
‘Clients want genuine ownership of the relationship by the partner and the team. When firms get bigger, people may think it’s just an institutional relationship, but clients still really want personal care. They also want dialogue in between matters. Lawyers must not disappear because their transaction has ended.
‘They also want lawyers who understand the context in which they’re delivering their advice – the things you’re not taught in law school are really important,’ he adds.
Understanding the impact all organisations have on society and the environment is increasingly important. Articulating the good you are doing and defining your purpose beyond profit can now make the difference between you and your competitors in recruiting the best people and winning the best clients.
Michael Chissick, Fieldfisher
Others, such as Cahill at Stewarts, stress the importance of firms genuinely listening to their clients and understanding the service they need – rather than what the firm wants to offer.
Price in and of itself is not the most important factor. What is more important is that clients believe they are receiving value for money – and indeed added value – from their advisers and that firms are being as efficient as possible, whether that is by using new technology, alternative delivery centres or through other forms of innovation.
According to partners, clients increasingly want firms to be doing all of the above while also meeting expectations to improve on both diversity and ethical awareness.
Linklaters corporate partner Jessamy Gallagher says: ‘The whole industry needs to keep working hard on diversity, inclusion and social mobility. While some big strides have been made in the last few years, this remains a long road to travel for many law firms.’
Fieldfisher managing partner Michael Chissick concludes: ‘Understanding the impact all organisations have on society and the environment is increasingly important. Our employees want to work for a responsible and caring firm and our clients want the same. Articulating the good you are doing and defining your purpose beyond profit can now make the difference between you and your competitors in recruiting the best people and winning the best clients.’
Georgina Stanley is the editor of The Legal 500 United Kingdom.
Client Service Award winners
Top ten firms for client service
| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton |
|---|
| Goodman Derrick |
| Harbottle & Lewis |
| Kennedys |
| Kirkland & Ellis |
| Michelmores |
| Mishcon de Reya |
| Stewarts |
| Taylor Wessing |
| Weil, Gotshal & Manges |
Global Elite firms
| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton |
|---|
| Hogan Lovells |
| Kirkland & Ellis |
| Linklaters |
| Mayer Brown |
| Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy |
| Weil, Gotshal & Manges |
| Shearman & Sterling |
| Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom |
| Slaughter and May |
Major US firms in London
| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton |
|---|
| K&L Gates |
| Kirkland & Ellis |
| Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy |
| Weil, Gotshal & Manges |
UK top 25 firms
| Fieldfisher |
|---|
| Hogan Lovells |
| Irwin Mitchell |
| Slaughter and May |
| Taylor Wessing |
UK large firms
| Kennedys |
|---|
| Keoghs |
| Mishcon de Reya |
| TLT |
| Travers Smith |
UK mid-size firms
| Browne Jacobson |
|---|
| Goodman Derrick |
| Harbottle & Lewis |
| Michelmores |
| Stewarts |
NB: In alphabetical order
UK mid-size is defined as firms 51+ in the LB100
Q&A: John Cahill, managing partner, Stewarts
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers services to clients over the last few years?
Legal advice is delivered in an increasingly short time frame. We have worked hard to maintain the highest standards and provide carefully considered advice in a rapid response environment. This has been achieved through investment in our training and supervisory structures.
What do you think are the top three things law firms need to get better at?
There are many things but perhaps the most important is the ability to listen. In the law one size does not fit all. I encourage our lawyers to carefully identify the client’s objectives at the outset, understand the key legal and strategic issues and avoid making assumptions.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded marketplace?
We are litigation only, we focus on high value and complex disputes through highly specialised practice areas. We focus on excellence claimed by many but not delivered by all. Our starting point is to recruit the very best lawyers.
Profitability is a key driver as it funds attractive remuneration packages at the most senior level, making it more straightforward to recruit and retain the stars.
Perhaps most important is the focus we place on recruitment at all levels. After 20 years as managing partner, I still interview every lawyer, which means that there is no partner or lawyer in the firm that wasn’t interviewed by me. My colleagues will judge technical excellence. It is my job to examine the softer skills and fit within the business.
How important is innovation at Stewarts?
Our main focus on innovation is centred around alternative fee arrangements for clients. We have developed market-leading experience in litigation funding. Internally we have a risk and funding committee which I chair and which is responsible for all investment decisions on cases. In these cases we share risk with our clients, enabling them to litigate from a position of financial strength.
Q&A: David Patient, managing partner, Travers Smith
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
That advice is delivered on time, on budget and on point. Clients are interested in a lot more than just the law – they want commercial, solution-oriented advice from lawyers who understand their business and strategic objectives.
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over the last few years?
The most successful firms have understood the need for seamless collaboration across teams, involving the right people at the right level delivering the service, and leveraging support from professional business teams who have deep expertise in project management and tech solutions among other things.
How is technology changing the way you meet client needs? And which areas will be most affected by new tech?
Significantly, but to date possibly more slowly than we might have once thought. But the pace of change is speeding up and will never be slower than it is today! Technological integration with clients is a must – being the best lawyer is no longer enough. If clients can’t work with their chosen lawyers or firm, they won’t. For the time being, the more commoditised bits of work are being impacted most by tech, but while we may once have overestimated the speed at which tech would change how we provide our services, we underestimate it going forward at our peril. Our priority is to ensure that our services to clients remain high quality, high touch and hi-tech and of course, provide value for money.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded and competitive market?
Deep expertise from market-leading teams, platinum standard client service and, most importantly, being a pleasure to deal with.
Q&A: Joanna Blackburn, partner and board member, Mishcon de Reya
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
The highest quality legal advice is a given. As is hiring the best possible lawyers and giving them both the support and freedom to exercise their skills. Beyond that, we know that clients value a deep understanding of the personal and business contexts in which they operate: every client is also a human being with complex and interlinking motivations and priorities. Unravelling these to deliver results that capitalise on opportunities and solve problems, while ensuring you fiercely guard your clients’ interests, is key.
How is technology changing the way you meet client needs? And which areas will be most affected by new tech?
Technology in all its forms has reframed clients’ expectations. Netflix, Spotify, Apple, Uber, Amazon, Google, TripAdvisor – each of these businesses understand what their customers want: ease of use; speed; transparency; accurate information in real time; constant innovation and improvement. The legal sector is not immune from this and our clients demand the same.
In terms of which areas will be most affected – don’t rule anything out. They all will be and this is a revolution our industry has to embrace. One of many examples at our firm is our investment in PropTech: we have developed a suite of tools to revolutionise the firm’s real estate offering.
What are your top tips to firms on how to stay relevant?
1. Put your clients first and at the centre of everything you do, every time. Building and maintaining relationships is absolutely critical and the work is never done.
2. You have to be clear about where your strengths are and not try to be all things to all people. Focus on the areas in which you excel – for us this is predominantly in litigation and private client, both of which have been at the centre of our firm since 1937.
3. Know what you stand for. Interrogate your values, reinforce them and don’t pay lip service.
4. Demonstrate your difference – not through carefully crafted words on marketing materials but in what you do for your clients, your people and your community.
5. Embrace change. In a fast paced, ever-changing world do not fall in love with your own ideas and do not believe your own hype. Adapt and not only will you survive, you’ll thrive.
Q&A: Mark Aldrich, head of business and professional risk, Browne Jacobson
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
‘Trusted adviser’ is a well-used phrase but the fundamentals haven’t changed – lawyers that understand your business at every level, that you have a real relationship with and that give clear practical advice.
How is technology changing the way you meet client needs? And which areas will be most affected by new tech?
Technology is an incredible opportunity for the sector. We’ve had an in-house development team for many years and produce applications for internal and client use. We are about to launch a new client product to support active management of legal assets. On a day-to-day basis the way we do our work has transformed – we have invested heavily in secure mobile working solutions and most of our lawyers nowadays spend part of the week working from home.
The legal sector is, in my view, significantly behind many other sectors and the new world disruptors are massing on our borders – firms need to wake up and accept that tech will play a major part of legal services in
the future.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded and competitive market?
I’ve been with Browne Jacobson for approaching 25 years. The one thing that attracted me to the firm has not changed. We have a very welcoming culture which is not hierarchical. We empower people and trust them to do the right thing and we see the real benefit in investing in people and treating them as individuals rather than setting out to create wooden clones.
What innovation have you introduced that has added the most value?
The firm went paperlite (and paperless in most areas) a few years ago by embracing a solid DMS (iManage) supported by proper document governance. The benefits to our people and our clients in terms of document access, security and productivity has been immense. As we now adopt new technologies to assist with disclosure, due diligence and matter intelligence we will take this to a new level.
What’s your top tip to firms on how to stay relevant?
Successful firms know that our services must extend beyond legal. For many years we have had a very successful HR service for our education sector clients comprising 16 consultants. Successful firms will continue to develop services and advisory functions that complement core legal advice.
What have been the main changes in the way you charge for your work in recent years?
Many of our larger contracts now use different pricing models including fixed-price retainers in areas such as employment. We have also developed a product specifically targeted at GCs to assist them in obtaining fixed-price outsourced advice.
Q&A: Andrew Tucker, group chief executive, Irwin Mitchell
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
Our client insight programme tracks what our clients are telling us about our services and how they want them to be delivered. There are several key points which consistently come back in terms of what clients value including: understanding clients’ needs; knowledge and expertise; being accessible; and good communication.
How is technology changing the way you meet client needs? And which areas will be most affected by new tech?
More important than monitoring the progression of underlying technology is having a thorough understanding of what the client wants from us to begin with. Integrating that understanding of clients’ needs with new technologies is how we will deliver a service they truly value. Looking to the future, we are exploring the use of AI, we have established an innovation fund for all employees to contribute ideas, and we are testing new technological concepts in relation to client interaction using digital tools.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded and competitive market?
It’s really important to communicate the distinctiveness of our brand which is providing an expert service with a more human feel than clients may be accustomed to within the legal sector. We pride ourselves on our excellent client feedback and our insight tells us that we are living up to our brand values. This means that clients are increasingly using more than one service with us; for example a business owner may use our private wealth and personal tax services as well as receiving advice from our employment team about his business.
What have been the main changes in the way you charge for your work in recent years? What percentage of work is charged out with alternatives to the billable hour?
Clients are more sophisticated buyers and want flexibility and transparency in their pricing, which is why the SRA is insisting on firms publishing prices for some legal services. We offer a range of different pricing options because people have different needs including several fixed-fee products as well as more bespoke solutions.
The rise of legal operations has increased law firms’ focus on metrics and data – which metrics are clients most focused on now?
It’s really important that we build client advocacy by providing an excellent service so that they will recommend to others and instruct us again in future themselves. We use Net Promoter Score which is a recognised method in many different sectors of tracking whether clients would recommend your services. We are delighted that we have an overall score which is better than many big-name companies who are considered as customer service leaders; we then use our client insight programme to ensure we can build on this further.
Q&A: Glen Atchison, managing partner and head of private capital, Harbottle & Lewis
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
We asked them and they told us; it’s the ‘three As – affability, availability and ability, in that order…’
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over the last few years?
We introduced a formal client feedback initiative and continuously monitor the results carefully so that we can make improvements to the way we advise our clients, tailored to their individual needs.
How is technology changing the way you meet client needs? And which areas will be most affected by new tech?
Our clients are adapting to disruptive technology, and sometimes they are the disrupters themselves. We want to understand the challenges they face, and to find better ways to collaborate with them on their terms. We provide our lawyers and staff with an up-to-date, agile IT platform that offers the flexibility to rapidly and securely adopt to changing client needs. Although AI won’t replace the outstanding personal service we currently provide, it has the potential to help us deliver an even higher quality service with even greater efficiency.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded and competitive market?
Our responsiveness and strong industry connections add value that other law firms cannot match. Our leading reputation in the technology, media and entertainment sectors is one that few other law firms can match, added to our excellent reputation for acting for ultra-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals.
What innovation have you introduced that has added the most value?
Our wellbeing programme for all staff was introduced because we recognise the importance of our people and their physical and mental health. It also helps us attract the highest quality new employees and maintain our high retention rates. The programme includes a new structured performance management and mentoring system; flexible and agile working; free lunches, exercise classes, yoga, massages, meditation and external resilience talks; a biannual staff hiking trip to the Lake District; one additional day of annual leave for voluntary work and a fundraising programme built around firm social events to raise money for our charity of the year.
What have been the main changes in the way you charge for your work in recent years?
We continue to assess client satisfaction with our fee structures and over 90% of clients have said they received value exceeding fees paid. We aren’t wedded to hourly rates; it’s important to be flexible and agree the most relevant pricing structure to each individual client.
Q&A: James Segerdahl, global managing partner, K&L Gates
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
In our experience, clients consistently look to their law firms to be focused on delivering solutions to deal with the client’s challenges and opportunities, and to do so from a foundation of genuine understanding of the client’s business and goals. As an integrated global firm, this almost always starts with taking the time and making the effort to get to know the client, its business and its industry and market environment, as well as the client’s objectives, and then using that understanding to communicate a clear, shared vision of success and ultimately delivering high-quality service tailored to that vision.
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over the last few years?
The dual impact of project management and process improvement combined with increasing use of technology, including AI and related tools, is a significant change that has been in motion for many years but that has certainly accelerated over the past few years. These techniques and tools enable us to deliver much greater predictability and cost certainty to clients, while also providing enhanced efficiencies to the firm.
What do you think are the top three things law firms need to get better at?
In the context of law firms generally, this has not changed too much over the years. In no particular order: truly understanding the client’s business and its objectives and the context for those objectives; pricing and delivering services in ways that bring real value to the client while meeting the law firm’s needs; and continuing diversity efforts beyond recruiting and retention in ways that provide meaningful inclusion, opportunity and leadership roles for diverse lawyers.
What’s your top tip to firms on how to stay relevant?
Never be complacent; listen to clients and focus on continuous improvement of the firm’s ability to add value to clients in a meaningful way.
Q&A: Dene Rowe, partner and director of product development, Keoghs
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
Quality services and solutions to the legal challenges, problems and opportunities they face on a daily basis. They want their law firms to be on the same page as them, speaking their language and going the extra mile.
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over the last few years?
As a law firm serving the insurance industry, the combination of reform and technology change has influenced the way in which we deliver a number of our services.
In effect, reforms have been a driving force, while embracing technology has meant that automation and lean processing has provided the opportunity to deliver efficiency.
How is technology changing the way you meet client needs? And which areas will be most affected by new tech?
We invest significantly in technology and create our own software solutions for case, document and process management, artificial intelligence and the like. AI is key in the industry and we embrace this tech as we see the significant benefit that can be realised from automation opportunities.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded and competitive market?
- Our structure is focused on us retaining profit to invest in the business rather than drawing out all profits at the end of the year.
- We are a one-industry law firm – all we do is serve the insurance industry.
- We have our own software development team who have created our own case management system and AI system along with many other innovations. This gives us the ability to build the technology we need as a firm and not rely on what off-the-shelf packages are able to deliver.
- We were the first law firm to create a counter-fraud team and the first to bring a defendant AI lawyer.
- We don’t just cherry pick the high-value hourly rate, we also deliver the lower-end, fixed-fee work with the same quality approach.
What innovation have you introduced that has added the most value?
We have launched a number of innovations that have been recognised as having added value, including the recent launch of Lauri, the first AI defendant lawyer.
What have been the main changes in the way you charge for your work in recent years?
Keoghs has always had a series of services that are a fixed fee, commencing well over a decade ago. We do not see this therefore as a trend for the future – it’s a way of life for us.
Q&A: David Pester, managing partner, TLT
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
Clients value consistent high-quality service and advice, which is based on a deep understanding of their business and market. They also look for insights that draw on that understanding and bring value to their organisation.
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over the last few years?
Developing a flexible portfolio of services that allows us to shape our offer to meet client demand. This has included building our own shared service operation, launching a secondment service for clients and developing technology solutions.
It has also meant collaboration with LPOs, tech providers, other firms and a client’s own resources to ensure the right expertise is in place to deliver.
How is technology changing the way you meet client needs? And which areas will be most affected by new tech?
Technology touches everything we do for our clients, whether it is well-established areas like reporting documents and process automation or fast-evolving areas like collaboration and AI. It is hard to see areas that won’t be affected; AI is helping to take a lot of the heavy lifting out of some of the more complex areas of work and robotic process automation is offering further efficiencies in the more traditional volume-based transactional work.
What innovation have you introduced that has added the most value?
Ironically, it’s not technology, it’s getting our people to engage with and apply our services and technology portfolio to deliver the right solution for the client; whether that is in relation to an M&A transaction, a remediation scheme, a real estate portfolio or dealing with the impact of GDPR on their supply chain.
What’s your top tip to firms on how to stay relevant?
Listen to and understand your clients and then use that insight to drive change and adapt your service quickly.
What have been the main changes in the way you charge for your work in recent years? What percentage of work is charged out with alternatives to the billable hour?
The range of pricing options is very broad but clients are consistently leaning towards transparent, consistent and predictable pricing. Approximately 30% of our fees are drawn from alternatives to the billable hour.
Q&A: Louise Edwards, marketing director, Michelmores
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
Clients value certainty – around costs, timeframes, and likely outcomes. To be able to give that certainty we absolutely have to understand our clients and their business/personal lives, which means building relationships with them that aren’t purely transactional or one-way traffic. Our research has found that clients value real personal chemistry with their advisers.
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over the last few years?
We have not transformed their landscapes through the use of cutting-edge tech or AI. But what we have done is listened more and acted upon feedback that clients have given – whether ad hoc, in post-transaction reviews, or through more formal client listening programmes. This has been invaluable in helping us to adapt our service delivery and give clients what they actually want, and when they want it.
What do you think are the top three things law firms need to get better at?
1. Listening – as in active listening to clients, and acting upon what is heard.
2. Collaboration – both internally and with clients, to ensure that clients get the best possible service.
3. Horizon scanning – thinking more about how future events may affect clients and their businesses/personal lives.
How is technology changing the way you meet client needs?
And which areas will be most affected by new tech? Law firms are having to be more joined-up in terms of how their technology plays a better supporting role so that lawyers can spend more time building relationships and serving clients.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded and competitive market?
Relationship and service delivery. By understanding our clients and what they want, and executing brilliantly.
What innovation have you introduced that has added the most value?
Although not cutting-edge, we have reconsidered our approach to pricing, and through the help of third-party consultants (Validatum) delivered an internal training programme to our lawyers which has transformed how they price work. This has added value to clients, in giving them more choice around fixed fees or hourly rates and also added value to our bottom line, as our revenue per lawyer has also increased.
What’s your top tip to firms on how to stay relevant?
Listen to your clients. And listen to your people.
Q&A: Pranav Trivedi, London head, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
Clients expect technical excellence as a starting point. Beyond this, they value advisers who are commercial and responsive. In addition to day-to-day advice, they want a trusted adviser who can lead on the transformational deals.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded and competitive market?
We bring together the best levels of expertise across the globe. In doing so, our lawyers have found creative solutions to challenging legal issues. Our lawyers in Europe are renowned as a go-to group for handling the most sophisticated and complex legal issues; from dual-track transactions and contested takeovers, to bet-the-company white-collar crime investigations and disputes. We also have the ability to mix the new with the old – a particular advantage where, as is often the case, a bespoke rather than a standard solution is required.
Q&A: Polina Lyadnova, partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
Clients require their lawyers to be a business partner, to move away from simple black-letter law advice and towards providing advice that is accurate and also demonstrates a commercial understanding of the world the client operates in. They also value a focus on efficiency, be it by using technology or other means. Delivering the required result in a more efficient and client-friendly manner means not only being tech-savvy, but also understanding the client’s internal constraints and preferences and changing the way service is delivered to address those.
How is technology changing the way you meet client needs? And which areas will be most affected by new tech?
Cleary is a big believer in developing client-specific bespoke offerings. Many law firms buy off-the-shelf programmes and then find they do not adequately fit the needs of their clients. There is increased recognition that there is no one-size-fits-all. In that vein, instead of simply relying on vendors’ expertise, we have partnered with them to adapt existing tools in unique ways. Our AI and tech operations are run by our global team of highly experienced, full-time technology professionals in the US and Europe who report directly to the partnership.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded and competitive market?
Cleary Gottlieb is an international law firm focusing on cross-border matters. There are few firms with the depth and breadth of experience we have or the capability to offer clients this level of service across multiple jurisdictions. Our international full equity lockstep model allows clients to rely on the same standard of advice in, for example, the London office as they would get from the New York or Abu Dhabi offices. This same model prevents internal competition over clients, allowing for a more collegiate environment where the clients’ best interests are put first.
Q&A: Shilpa Bhandarkar, head of innovation and efficiency, Linklaters
What innovation have you introduced that has added the most value?
Nakhoda is Linklaters’ flagship technology platform. Fusing premium legal expertise and dynamic, leading-edge data science, Nakhoda is uniquely built to help financial institutions, global corporates, government and industry organisations leverage their legal data, whether structured or unstructured – with game changing results. We have already built solutions for financial, regulatory and lending markets including automated legal logic, data extraction, and automated document production.
Q&A: Sally Davies, London senior partner, Mayer Brown
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
When a client employs a firm like ours, it is a given that the level of technical expertise is at the highest level, so being able to deliver on this requires a strong people strategy. Clients want commerciality — a real understanding of their market and their business concerns adds real value. They want a diverse team, but with diversity in all its facets; not just gender or race but diversity of thought, which can come from business services professionals working as part of the client team. Clients are also telling us that they want to see more of the lawyers who will actually be doing the work – that usually means the associates.
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over the last few years?
The rise of disruptors and alternative service providers has forced a pace of change that might not have otherwise been there. The fragmentation of the market means there is an even greater need to focus on developing and maintaining deep client relationships. Lawyers have historically been OK at this, but the changing needs of general counsel and in-house legal departments has meant there has been a sharper focus on what makes a great client relationship.
How is technology changing the way you meet client needs?
Our use of technology as an enabler advances every year – recent examples include our global rollout of Umbria to manage matters in a way that delivers value for the client and is profitable for the firm.
What’s your top tip to firms on how to stay relevant?
Really listen to your clients and engage your junior lawyers and business development professionals in action plans geared to developing and enhancing those relationships. It is also really important that someone in the firm has responsibility for keeping up to date on market developments and who then helps management cut through the noise and focus on the innovation and disruption that we absolutely must respond to.
The rise of legal operations has increased law firms’ focus on metrics and data – which metrics are clients most focused on now?
Every client is different and will have their own KPIs for measuring supplier success. Diversity reporting is a relatively recent KPI clients are focused on – who’s working on what matters and what their background is. Clients with entertainment policies will ask for reports showing who has received corporate hospitality and what the value of that is. We produce reports showing billable hours, bills generated, WIP, AR, value account usage and other more niche information.
Q&A: Susan Bright, UK and Africa managing partner, Hogan Lovells
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over the last few years?
A much greater focus on business efficiencies, innovation and diversity. We use legal technology (such as AI and document automation), legal project management and alternative resourcing on a much larger scale than five years ago. For example, our global legal project management team has grown from two people to more than 30, we launched a flexible lawyering programme in partnership with Elevate and our Birmingham legal delivery centre and two global business services centres continue to thrive. We have also grown our portfolio of non-legal advisory services including financial services regulatory consulting, cyber security, transfer pricing and strategic communications, competing with the type of work usually done by management consultancies.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded and competitive market?
A number of factors set us apart. These include: our transatlantic capabilities and consistency of advice and service; our distinctive collaborative and ambitious culture; and our experience in some of the most highly-regulated sectors, such as financial services, energy, and life sciences. We are also extremely committed to diversity, wellbeing and to pro bono and citizenship activity. Clients notice this and judge firms on the role we play in society. Hogan Lovells is also well-known for staying ahead of the curve on the latest issues that matter most to our clients, such as Brexit, fintech and cyber risk/data privacy.
What’s your top tip to firms on how to stay relevant?
Lawyers need to be on the pulse and deeply embedded in relevant industry sectors in order to ensure they fully understand what clients are grappling with. Here, for example, our constitutional change taskforce is at the forefront of political developments, and members of the taskforce have written reports on behalf of the entire financial services sector mapping out a Brexit blueprint for the sector (in collaboration with the International Regulatory Strategy Group). That work has been referenced regularly by the UK government as part of their planning. We were advising clients on the impact of Brexit and how to prepare long before the referendum took place.
It is also critical to keep up with the latest technology and ensure that you are providing the most innovative and cost-effective solution every time. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Q&A: Neel Sachdev, partner, Kirkland & Ellis
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
Our clients are increasingly demanding specialist expertise and market knowledge. On private equity transactions, we offer clients global teams who have extensive technical and market knowledge across corporate M&A, debt finance, tax, antitrust and regulatory advice. Clients value our specialism and being advised by teams who are the most active in the market and can advise on the latest terms and deal technology from across the US, Europe and Asia. We recently advised a consortium of sponsors on the multibillion takeover offer for Inmarsat, which involved advice on UK public takeover issues, US and European debt syndication issues and complex tax and regulatory advice. We were able to provide the sponsors with market-leading expertise in each of these areas through an integrated team across the US and UK.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded and competitive market?
We seek to promote and hire the top talent in the legal market. Our accelerated career paths for our young lawyers to partnership and our meritocratic culture means that we attract the best lawyers who want to work hard and develop our business. All our lawyers are client facing and are not driven by titles or management roles. They share a goal of prioritising commitment to our clients. This is reflected in the levels of client service, responsiveness and advice provided to clients across the firm. The drive and energy of our lawyers is very visible and has helped us differentiate in our areas of expertise.
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over last few years?
We have become increasingly focused on delivering global solutions to our clients. In the world of private capital and alternative asset managers, our clients are global investment firms and want their advisers to be able to advise on deals, structures and regulation across key jurisdictions and capital markets. This may involve fund formation, corporate M&A, debt finance, tax, IP, antitrust and regulatory lawyers from across our offices. Our clients are hiring teams and not individuals. This team ethos has become core to the way we deliver service to clients.
Q&A: Jessamy Gallagher, partner, head of clients and sectors, Linklaters
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
The obvious answer is great legal advice but in a competitive environment that isn’t enough on its own to stand out among the world’s leading firms. We see increasing demand from clients for the value add; whether that’s having a team of advisers with deep sector experience or our ability to bring technology and innovation to deliver maximum value and efficiency as they tackle their thorniest legal challenges. Clients clearly also value very highly our ability to scan the horizon for their next challenge or opportunity and to prepare them for that while also solving the issues of the day.
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over the last few years?
Technology has been the biggest change without a doubt: it now runs through almost everything we do – from our legal advice to the way we deliver our services to clients and the way we run our own business. Delivering services and solutions that really work for clients is the best way to stay ahead of the curve in this area and we shy away from innovation for innovation’s sake.
What do you think are the top three things law firms need to get better at?
The whole industry needs to keep working hard on diversity, inclusion and social mobility. Secondly, we can’t stand still; we have to keep innovating. Clients demand it and the competition for work and talent necessitates it. And that doesn’t just mean AI or technology; it should apply to how we work too. Finally, the need to have an international mindset increases every year.
Q&A: Alex Woods, director of K&I, Slaughter and May
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over the last few years?
Front of mind is the continued need to demonstrate our commitment to innovation and understanding the direct benefits to clients. That said, innovation can mean different things to different clients. For some, innovation is primarily about leveraging technology. For others, it is about finding alternative resource to manage different types and volumes of work, or using project management techniques to deliver a transaction or case efficiently.
How is technology changing the way you meet client needs? And which areas will be most affected by new tech?
Although for clients legal services innovation is about more than technology, it is certainly the fastest moving area, and the one with most potential to bring about significant change. At Slaughter and May we have a three-tiered approach to legal tech: firstly, areas where we already have an established capability, for example artificial intelligence for document review and analysis through Luminance; secondly, areas where we can take our experience and apply it in a new context; and finally, emerging areas which are likely to have significant relevance to the sector and where we can collaborate with others to garner valuable expertise and market contacts, such as blockchain and smart contracting.
What are your top tips to firms on how to stay relevant?
For all firms the challenge is to ensure that they are positioned to be able to anticipate, adapt and respond to market change and evolving client need in the way that other industries have done successfully. This includes making changes to legal service delivery, but it is also about developing and nurturing solid client relationships and firm culture and strategy – none of which are new or revolutionary concepts, despite the high profile of innovation in our sector at the moment. There’s no room for complacency for any firm that wants to retain or improve its market position in this time of intense market change.
Q&A: Michael Chissick, managing partner, Fieldfisher
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
Ultimately clients need solutions to complex problems so they want to work with lawyers they trust and who understand how they work and the pressures they face. Increasingly they need us to invest in building relationships not just with their in-house legal teams, but also with key members of the business. Clients are also increasingly looking to law firms to help them make sense of the disruption that is taking place in law with a view to shaping their in-house teams optimally and to identify the best opportunities in which to invest in automation. They want us to deliver the most efficient solution to get their deal over the line, whatever shape that may take.
A newer trend is that many clients now expect their law firms to adhere to high standards and to understand the impact of human rights on our business activities. Understanding the impact all organisations have on society and the environment is increasingly important. Our employees want to work for a responsible and caring firm and our clients want the same.
What have been the biggest changes in the way your firm delivers service to clients over the last few years?
We now have an experienced lawyer who is head of client service delivery supported by a team of legal engineers. A few years ago these roles, as well as new positions such of directors of innovation, and heads of pricing, could not have been conceived but are now standard in many law firms. Our teams are no longer just made up of lawyers but increasingly also include project managers, technologists and client relationship managers who can work with clients through the life of a deal or a matter and who actually understand and are immersed in their sectors.
In the age of the gig economy, alternative legal solutions and technology-led solutions are now an accepted way of providing better value services. By using more of these solutions, time can be freed up for lawyers to focus on strategic and more complex requirements and client relationship management.
What innovation have you introduced that has added the most value to clients?
Our alternative legal services platform Condor continues to evolve and deliver new solutions for clients. It started life as a financial services product focused on trading documentation but now has a wide range of solutions covering everything from Brexit through KYC and onto regulatory readiness. We have launched a lawyers on demand service and are soon to launch a secondment service prompted by client demand. Related to Condor has been the launch of our solutions hub in Belfast, where we have well over 50 paralegals and other staff supporting offices around Europe. This is giving us not just a pricing advantage but also a speed advantage. Co-locating people in one office has boosted productivity and ensured that people resources are allocated much more efficiently.
Q&A: Mike Francies, London managing partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges
What do you think clients value most from their law firms?
Different clients value different things but they all value transparency, responsiveness and market experience. They value lawyers who share and understand their problems. They assume you know the law.
What’s been the biggest shift in clients’ attitude in recent years?
The mystique of lawyers has largely gone. Clients are more open eyed. All the lateral movement means they have people constantly approaching them, constantly marketing to them. What this means for delivering service is that it’s about really thinking about what clients need rather than what you want.
How do you differentiate your offering in an increasingly crowded and competitive market?
The client really is king now, and rightly so – 10-15 years ago it was also the lawyer. It means you have to be constantly changing your game. You need to think like a client to give them what they want. Lawyers have always been better at talking than listening but you have to become good at listening. Lawyers have had to get better at selling what clients want to buy and not what they want to sell.
What do you think will change client service over the coming years?
Recognising that things that happen in other industries affect law firms too. Like technology, which is changing everything, an osmosis effect. It isn’t about a killer app – in time we’ll all be using things we never thought we would. Billing also needs to change – at some stage I think nearly all fees will be alternative. People like certainty and risk sharing and with risks should come reward. We need to be smarter about how we bill – can a model built on people working harder and harder survive? Diversity and inclusion will continue to be increasingly important – clients are making this a real, urgent need for change now; law can’t continue to be excused from being diverse.
What are your top tips to firms on how to stay relevant?
- Listen to the client.
- Follow the client’s strategy.
- Focus on your own firm and its strengths and weaknesses rather than copying others.