In the end Macfarlanes’ response to the recession was very strong. We learned not to be frightened of change and our powers embraced this in a way which was very invigorating… I wish we’d responded a little sooner. But we got there and I’m proud of what we achieved.
The firm got its mojo back. That wasn’t a given. We were phenomenally successful – we were a deal machine and managed to adapt in a way that the mix of the practice today is quite different to six years ago.
The firm has a real buzz about it. That’s the biggest achievement for leadership. I’m proud of the practice areas we’ve built over that period – the real estate practice, the hedge fund practice, and the financial services investigations team all stand out. There’s also a confidence and momentum to private client and litigation. The M&A practice, having had a tough few years, has bounced back and is powering away. That’s very dear to me.
Luck is significant in running a law firm. There are lots of things that can go wrong and go right. You learn the hard way when you move from being a practising lawyer to leadership or management that you can’t control everything. But you learn when you move into leadership what you can and cannot do and stuff happens that is beyond your control. To some extent you make your own luck but you’re deluding yourself that it’s all down to what you influence.
It’s very important for leadership to set the tone and to set an example. I believe in being positive as much as possible and living the values that I think make a big difference not only internally here but to our clients. The mantra is work hard and be nice to people.
Who do I admire? My brother Nick had a very serious motorcycle accident four and a half years ago and he’s been in a wheelchair ever since. Having been through that experience with him, I’m in awe of his determination, resilience and good cheer.
My family would say I have no work/life balance. I definitely can switch off from this. But particularly as senior partner, you feel the responsibility quite heavily. I give the bulk of my waking life to the job. That’s what the firm demands and deserves.
For a lot of law firms, they have a specific growth target. For us, it’s almost the opposite. We have demand from clients which means we look at what else we can do for them – that might mean more people. But we recognise there are limits to the growth that we can have while remaining distinctive. Our partners are real partners. That makes a difference in how they handle clients and how they’re perceived. I would hate to grow to an extent where we no longer have that relationship with the firm and each other. We would become a bit samey – you can’t be samey in the legal world.
Our strength is our distinctive culture and personality that’s difficult to describe. It’s powerful to clients and internally. Our weakness is that we could be more confident. We’re pretty cautious as individuals. That sometimes means we don’t make very brave decisions.
The legal profession will change a lot. You’ll see anything commoditised or automated going that route. The value-added tier will get thinner and thinner. We’ll see new entrants and the growth of non-law providers. The accountants will get more ambitious about what they do in the law. You’ll see the growth of boutiques in IT in particular that enables all sorts of collaborative working practices. We’ve seen the period during which the scale of in-house legal departments increased exponentially – that process has probably come to an end.
Wisdom? Be yourself. Be a good listener. Don’t think that as a lawyer you just have to transmit. Receiving doesn’t make you look stupid. Don’t expect it to be an easy ride – you have to enjoy this. You don’t do this for the money, not that the money is bad of course, but you can’t give 30 years of your life if you don’t enjoy this.
I have a friend who is a recently retired partner at Goldman Sachs. When he retired, the Financial Times did an interview and asked: ‘If you could change one thing about Goldman Sachs, what would it be?’ He said: ‘I wish more people travelled on the tube.’ That matters to both of us. It’s very easy to become detached and to live in a bubble in London and the world we operate in. It’s important to remain connected and keep some objectivity. People like my brother help me remember to do that too.
Charles Martin is senior partner at Macfarlanes
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk