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International Markets

International alliances

I can say, wearing two hats – in terms of running the litigation department of a mid-tier firm located in London, and also as the chair of an international alliance of law firms spanning the globe – that I have no doubt that international alliances can work for smaller to mid-tier law firms, in terms of providing a platform to compete against the top tier.

My international colleagues and I can see that there is a real power-shift away from North America and Western Europe towards India and China, with other emerging economies, such as Brazil and Mexico, laying down a strong challenge for the future. There is business to be generated from these markets, and opportunities coming the other way as foreign businesses invest in or take over domestic companies.

Being part of an international alliance, with the additional international gravitas and resources this brings, means that a smaller to mid-tier practice can stand up and be counted – and will often hold an advantage in terms of being more competitive on their pricing structure, which means a great deal in markets such as India and China. With members from these markets, we also have a competitive advantage in terms of understanding the culture and business environment, which works each way.

Finding an international alliance can be difficult for a law firm situated in a prime commercial location. We were invited to join an established international alliance of accountants, called the Alliott Group, which was looking to bring lawyers into the fold. My partners and I took a glass-half-full approach, looking at the benefits of getting involved on the ground floor, and being able to help shape the recruitment process. It has taken five years, but we now have more than 30 law firms sitting alongside over 120 accountancy firms, with serious discussions with a number of other firms.

In terms of the benefits, there is the obvious prospect of incoming referrals of business to the practice. Perhaps less obvious is the ability to look after clients, who increasingly want to develop their operations internationally, and protecting relationships which might otherwise be lost to a larger, international practice is invaluable.

Our members have seen a growing raft of clients with international ambitions, who are only too pleased to be able to find an alternative to the top layer of firms.

Other benefits include: sharing knowledge and information on such things as practice-management, marketing intelligence, PR and, indeed, IT. It is enlightening how open and relaxed members of an alliance will be in sharing know-how of any kind, and an alliance can allow members to get all the advantages of pooled resources without the need to maintain an expensive and cumbersome infrastructure.

Recruitment and retention of fee-earners can also be aided. Good lawyers are going to be attracted to a firm that can offer international work and the prospect of some travel.

Such an alliance does require an investment, and most agree that there will be a correlation over time, between input and reward. Days can be long and it is not always easy, with all the travel, including many weekends away from the family. There is also a balancing act to be achieved with managing one’s client portfolio. Clearly, with modern communications, keeping pace with the desk at home is much easier than it used to be, but it does mean working double days and making use of room service. But it is worth it, because it is about relationship-building, and it is true that people would prefer to do business with people they know and trust, and alliances help to create the perfect platform for this.

Paul Marmor is head of litigation at Sherrards ­Solicitors and chair of Alliott Group Legal.

Legal Services Directory 2011