At the end of her mandate at the head of PwC Legal, the time has come for Cindy Arces to hand over the reins to Catherine Baflast, who will become managing partner as of October 1, 2021. This succession and change in governance has been prepared for several months.

On her departure, Cindy Arces says: "I am proud to have planted the PwC Legal flag in Luxembourg with my partners. In the very particular context we have been experiencing for the last 18 months, the firm has shown resilience and has been able to structure talented teams around targeted growth objectives. Over the last few months, we have been working intensively on the strategic orientations that will help us accelerate this growth and serve our clients even more passionately and effectively. I am very pleased that Catherine will succeed me in implementing the strategy we have developed. Her appointment seems to me an obvious choice given her experience of more than 20 years with the firm and her in-depth knowledge of the Luxembourg market. Finally, I have full confidence in the ability of the new management team to anchor the firm in the Luxembourg business law market on a long-term basis.”

With and for its clients, the firm imagines, plans and delivers services that are innovative solutions to help them overcome complexity. The network believes deeply in the power of legal advice to provide a solution to the challenges of clients subjected to an increasingly unstable environment. This is the profound ambition expressed by its raison d'être: "We take you from complexity to execution".

Operational excellence, proximity and reactivity have always been part of its DNA, but what distinguishes PwC Legal from other business law firms is directly linked to its membership of the PwC network.

The law firm is able to deliver its services within a network of disciplines whose connection beyond law and beyond borders allows its clients to easily and quickly access the network's expertise.

This global approach makes it possible to analyse problems from a much broader perspective, anticipate growth opportunities and control all associated risks. All of the network's human and technological resources can be quickly brought online to solve the problem and "find a way out of the complexity".

To be successful in the market and embody this vision, the firm must accelerate the deployment of its strategy and work on the following three areas:

• Focus its service offering on matters that positively contribute to the success of its clients and maximise the strengths of the PwC platform;
• Develop its employees and enhance their careers by promoting the idea of the lawyer-entrepreneur, a legal professional and business advisor fully involved and aware of their clients' growth projects;
• Accelerate the digitalisation of the firm to serve its clients with greater efficiency and collaborative exchanges.

To execute this roadmap, Catherine will be able to count on an experienced partnership, at the strategic level, aware of the challenges of the transformation of the market and the profession.

On a more operational level, Catherine will rely on a streamlined and strengthened management team fully mobilised to implement an ambitious action plan. In this respect, her first decision was to appoint Audrey Rustichelli as deputy managing partner. With a solid knowledge notably in the Luxembourg market and a genuine talent for development, Audrey will assist Catherine specifically on issues of business development, branding and marketing.

Catherine Baflast says: "I am delighted to be able to write a new chapter in the history of our firm as managing partner, surrounded by a management team with proven experience. Together and with our employees, we share a common vision: to make PwC Legal an innovative firm, to develop the concept of "lawyer-entrepreneur"— a source of added value for our clients and motivation for our people — and to be at the forefront of digitalisation. We will be committed to increasing the skills of our teams in terms of digitalisation and will continue to place the human element at the heart of this transformation.  Faced with a complex problem, PwC Legal's mission is to find solutions for our clients that are outside the box. Excelling in the art of thinking unconventionally makes our clients go further and stronger. Perhaps this is the true meaning of innovation in business law? I know that I can count on a team with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, committed to providing excellent service and taking that famous step aside to help each of our clients overcome complexity.”