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Local presence married to an international strategy

Illustrated photo of hand stacking coins

How are client demands in Italy changing?

Italian clients require an increasing understanding of their business and specialist expertise in their industry sector(s). Clients’ desire for new markets is achieved not only through their penetration in the richer markets of industrialised countries, but increasingly through access into fast-growing economies, which have a growth rate three to four times higher than the mature economies.

Opening up to the rest of the world also means facing and winning new challenges coming from multiple directions: for example, Brexit is evolving and Italian companies – in particular those active in the manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceutical, electrical and beverage industries as well as financial services – are asking us for support and assistance in preparing for the UK’s exit. Clients demand greater efficiency and value, and therefore cost optimisation of legal services and the search for innovative pricing solutions continue apace with the expansion of the legal tech industry/artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to assist law firms to remain competitive.

Last, but not least, in close connection with the technological evolution of the legal sector, Italian clients demand more effective data security and state-of-the-art management of sensitive information.

How are you adapting to these changes?

The firm is equipped with task forces to analyse strategic topics and develop guidelines that enable GOP to adapt to market developments and client needs in a timely and effective manner. Working in partnership with our clients means understanding and anticipating their needs. We have invested in creating a full-service firm, and increasingly in developing a focus on specific industry sectors with the formation of multi-disciplinary groups of lawyers working in a client-centric culture.

Following the launch of GOP4 Venture (an extremely active specialist group dedicated to venture capital and technology transfer), the firm introduced ‘Art Law’, a new team which advises art collectors, galleries, museums, private auction houses, charitable organisations and art market professionals worldwide on all legal and regulatory issues connected with fine art, antiques and heritage property.

Since Brexit is redesigning the geography of the new banking and financial centres in Europe – and Luxembourg is likely to play an increasingly central role in the creation and management of investment vehicles, as well as in the interests of financial and insurance services – the firm has launched a Luxembourg desk which allows us to deepen our presence in an area that already boasts consolidated business relationships with our country, for the benefit of our clients generally, as well as the Italian financial and business sector specifically.

The firm also carefully follows the development of technology, especially in AI and big data. For this reason we set up a task force which aims to identify the link between the development of proprietary tools and their acquisition from the market.

Our clients expect their sensitive and confidential data to be secure and safe with our firm and it is our priority to reassure them and demonstrate their trust is highly prized. In December 2016, we became the first Italian, full-service law firm to obtain ISO27001, an international accreditation that is only awarded to organisations which are able to ensure that information and data are secure from any kind of threat.

How do you set yourself apart from the competition?

Local presence and international strategy. With five offices in Italy, GOP is the law firm that boasts the largest territorial presence in the country. The strategy responds to the need to ensure ‘cultural’, as well as geographic proximity to those companies that are the pillars of economic growth in the country and will play a leading role in market penetration out of Italy.

On the other hand, internationalisation has always been our goal and we aim to assist our clients wherever they may need us and in their cross-border transactions. Through our local and overseas offices we are present in key business centres. We have long-standing relationships with leading law firms all over the world and we continue to successfully develop referrals and
cross-border work, not least through our consolidated desks dedicated to strategic areas such as Africa, India, China, Korea, Luxembourg, Turkey and Russia.

Our role as a partner in internationalisation processes focuses on large Italian groups, and on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This model is based on a long-term approach and involves the building of a partnership with clients. Those Italian SMEs that are open to international progress will become the ‘national champions’ of the next generation.

We continue to scout new geographical regions that are becoming more and more prominent in the world and which represent an interesting market with prolific growth potential for the ‘Made in Italy’ brand. In this regard, we continue to collaborate with embassies, foreign chambers of commerce and governmental agencies, and we also take part in governmental missions abroad to enhance business exchanges and create partnership opportunities. In addition, we rely on an internationalisation task force that assists the firm in developing guidelines for furthering its internationalisation process.

Where are you seeing growth in Italy?

Italian companies which survived the economic turmoil following the crisis in recent years are now pretty strong and willing to make acquisitions. Their main interests are in infrastructures, energy and petrochemicals but they are also very attracted to the manufacturing and technology sectors.

With reference to outbound investments, these companies are expanding worldwide: Germany, France and other large European countries, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Among the companies that have increased their presence abroad, many belong to the engineering/mechanical and technological industries.

Overseas companies are mostly interested in the fashion, food, automotive and component industries – areas in which Italian companies continue to be attractive targets. We have also noticed a return of so-called ‘strategic’ investors that are investing capital with more strategic long-term aims to develop industrial business instead of engaging in speculative/short-term transactions. This category of investor from Japan, the US as well as within the EU, has been noticeably more active in M&A deals.

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Truly local, truly global

Illustrated photo of hand stacking coins

How are client demands in Italy changing?

We should distinguish between subsidiaries of international groups and domestic Italian clients. The first follow the same approach globally and their demands in our local market are the same as in any other country, while for domestic companies the traditional approach prevails. Small- and medium-sized businesses are family owned, this means that the relationship with their legal advisers is characterised by a strong level of personal trust. Large Italian companies on the other hand, even when family owned and not doing international business, are increasingly aligning their demands to international standards.

How do you set yourself apart from the competition in Italy?

While local firms have to adapt to such change in demands, our competitive advantage is already fulfilling those requirements. Being a truly local, truly global firm and the primary international firm in the Italian legal market, we are the only firm capable of offering worldwide seamless legal advice to Italian companies for their international business. We are innovative and align ourselves to every best practice in the market and have a higher level of efficiency. We have developed innovative models of flexible pricing that meet the changing expectations of clients on value for money.

Where are you seeing domestic and international growth?

In certain key industries, such as technology, Italy has a number of hidden world champions growing their market share on an international scale that will need global legal assistance. As to foreign investments in Italy, we see opportunities in fashion, life sciences, technology, financial services, infrastructure, as well as in traditional manufacturing. Because of political instability, foreign direct investment has been lower than justifiable over the past few years. Considering the importance of the Italian economy, it might be expected that such delay may be recovered thanks to these industries.

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The Specials

Illustrated photo of hand stacking coins

How are client demands in Italy changing?

Clients’ demands have been changing throughout the years in Italy as elsewhere; there is an increasingly segmented workflow and a clear distinction between commoditised work and special situations. Clients have been better at organising internally and have a clear picture of the different capabilities of each firm and also of different lawyers within the same firm. Clients are looking for value-added services and are attempting to cut the budget as much as possible with reference to serial or repetitive matters.

How are you adapting to these changes?

Of course we have been looking at all relevant changes and constantly monitoring our strategy and organisation to better serve the clients in the special situations rather than in the commoditised work.

How do you set yourself apart from the competition?

Competition is as strong in Italy as in any other country. The key differentiator from our competitors is the capacity to handle the most complex transactions through a unique multi-disciplinary approach. The driver of our firm is being excellent and better than our competitors in our key practice areas; this is the result of a series of actions starting from the recruitment, where we pay close attention to career development and encourage innovation at all levels of our organisation. The goal is to stay at the top of the market where it is more difficult to find competitors with the same capacity and reputation.

Where are you seeing growth?

In recent years, we have seen increased interest in foreign clients looking to invest in Italy and we have been very happy to assist them with the Italian side of a number of cross-border transactions. Also domestic clients have been quite active, with sectors interested by consolidation waivers and in certain cases also looking to invest abroad.

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First culture, then business. First law, then profit

Illustrated photo of hand stacking coins

How are client demands in Italy changing?

Now, more than in the past, clients seek different services from different legal providers: standardised and cost-effective advisory packages, including services outside the strict legal perimeter, from worldwide networks composed of more than 1,000 professionals; consultancy on specific issues, which require hyper-specialisation, from small legal boutiques; strategic advisory, from multidisciplinary law firms with no less than 100 lawyers skilled in a broad variety of laws and practice areas.

Of course, there is a certain overlap in the activities carried out by the types of law firms just mentioned. Depending on their attitudes and capabilities, law firms are increasingly requested to share the entrepreneurial risk of their clients (e.g. agreeing on new compensation formulas) and to contribute to addressing legal issues underlying their clients’ business in creative ways. For example, lawyers can offer added-value services by suggesting new legal structures that could allow clients to pursue projects in the most efficient manner, rather than limiting advice to highlighting prohibitions and constraints.

The role of the lawyer is also growing in the implementation of general security and compliance plans and corporate governance models aimed at ensuring the optimal management of risks related to anti-money laundering, anti-bribery, health and safety, and so on. From a general point of view, as a result of globalisation, clients expect to be provided with prompt responses and legal advisory services of the same level of quality that they receive in the most advanced foreign jurisdictions where they operate.

How are you adapting to these changes?

We constantly strive to become and remain a strategic partner for our clients, multinational or domestic. Clients must feel thoroughly understood by us, so that they can obtain sound and prescient legal advice, tailored to their specific needs and aims, particularly when facing strategic choices, like commencing or settling a major international arbitration or completing or abandoning a complex M&A negotiation process.

In order to achieve such an ambitious goal we make every effort to (i) build a fiduciary long-standing relationship with clients, accompanying them in their process of growth as well as helping them in overcoming difficulties and managing crises; (ii) be flexible and open-minded in satisfying clients’ demands and exigencies to better understand the peculiarities of their business and internal company dynamics; (iii) study innovative legal solutions and test their validity and feasibility in the jurisdictions where we are active, relying on our solid experience and multi-faceted expertise developed through challenges faced in problem-solving; (iv) test ourselves against strong counter-parties and learn from outstanding experts and advisers in almost every field of human knowledge and industry; and (v) elaborate new defensive tactics before the courts and liaise with independent authorities, including the newer ones, like the Anti-corruption Authority.

How do you set yourself apart from the competition in Italy?

Our style and core values are epitomised by two mottoes: (i) First Culture then Business; (ii) first Law then Profit. As a good example of the first motto, I like to mention our international policy. Since its inception, Pavia e Ansaldo has been working to establish foreign desks in Italy (US; Spain; Germany; Russia; Japan; China; Turkey and the Middle East; Africa) and branches abroad (Barcelona; Moscow; Saint Petersburg; Tokyo) where we considered ourselves capable of offering high-level added-value legal services, due to the expertise of our Italian and foreign lawyers, who have specialist expertise in various jurisdictions.

We strongly believe that we would not be in the best position to advise our Italian clients in constituting subsidiaries, making long-term investments, negotiating and managing major construction projects or complex litigation proceedings outside Italy, if our local partners were not able to fully and immediately understand the implications of certain behaviours, perceptions, hints and nuances that only professionals, native or deep-rooted in the relevant foreign country, are able to understand.

As to the second motto, we deem it of the utmost importance to dedicate our time and energy in recruiting and training young talented lawyers who have strong principles. We want to build creative teams where young brilliant lawyers of the 21st century, with their new skills and technological expertise, are offered chances to develop their capabilities in a friendly, cultivated and ethically irreproachable work environment.

Where are you seeing growth from domestic clients and those outside who are looking to invest in Italy?

On the domestic front, Italian small-to-medium sized firms that managed to survive the 2008 financial crisis are stronger today and better able to compete in the international arena. In particular, Italy’s traditional strengths in a broad range of manufacturing fields, from luxury and fashion to biotechs, mechanics and robotics could boost growth due to the inventive approach and unique know-how of our firm. We are seeing an increase in the
number of Italian clients we act for as we are considered a reputed and reliable adviser by clients that are increasingly sophisticated, export-oriented, and determined to be recognised as international players in their niche.

As to the activity of foreign investors in Italy, it must first be pointed out that EU economies integration is increasing every day despite any contingent political divisions. It is apparent that US funds and manufacturers are returning after a hiatus over the last few years. This is probably also due to the global competition with China, as many private and public Chinese investors have targeted Italian industries for joint ventures and long-term investments.

As a law firm founded at the beginning of the ’60s by a pioneering business lawyer active in Milan and New York, we have a long history with US clients, while we have also recently established a Chinese desk in our Rome office led by a brilliant Chinese lawyer with a solid professional background in both countries, with the intention of assisting Chinese clients in overcoming the cultural barriers that may prevent them from being successful in transactions which are reciprocally beneficial for them and our national economy.

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Economic recovery, the Italian way

The third largest economy in the eurozone and a founding member of the EU, you need to have been living on another planet not to be aware of Italy’s plight in the last few years, even flirting with the idea of an exit from the EU in recent times, with the incumbent prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, telling reporters in October 2018 to ‘Read my lips: there will be no Italian Brexit…’. Hit particularly hard by the sovereign debt crisis, with salaries reported to have fallen to 1986 levels in 2012, the country’s economy has made slow progress since the recession.

However, Italy remains a central market for luxury goods and is home to several behemoths in the automotive sector, including Ferrari, Alfa Romeo
and Lamborghini, and fashion houses including Prada, Versace and Ermenegildo Zegna, to name a few. It is also a key name in the manufacturing sector, where it is second only to Germany as the largest country for manufacturing in Europe.

Based on the country’s long-standing strengths in these areas, Italian law firms remain fairly optimistic about the levels of activity in the market.
According to Wolf Michael Kühne, country managing partner at DLA Piper, the Italian economy may experience some semblance of a recovery as a direct result of the significance of these industries. This sentiment was also shared by the co-managing partners at Gianni, Origioni, Grippo, Capelli & Partners, Rosario Zaccà and Antonio Auricchio, who have noted how Italian companies in the fashion, food, automotive and component industries continue to be attractive targets for investment.

In recognition of the importance of these sectors, The Legal 500 took the decision to expand its ‘Industry focus’ sections in 2016, introducing Retail, Luxury goods and Manufacturing as new sections. Our industry focuses assess the ability of legal practices to provide a range of services to clients in each sector.

Other major changes to The Legal 500’s coverage in recent years includes the introduction in 2018 of a Compliance ranking, with work in this area largely comprising anti-corruption programmes and internal investigations. Allegations of corruption have dogged those at the highest echelons of Italian politics, with controversial former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi – who, incidentally, graduated with a degree in law, before a stint in the construction industry preceded his rise as a media mogul – convicted of tax fraud in 2012. Indeed, it has also been prevalent in football where there have been a number of match-fixing scandals across all leagues, and has also crossed over into tennis, with Marco Cecchinato suspended for 18 months for his involvement in a match-fixing offence in a Challenger event.

Despite the high-profile sporting and political scandals, much of the firms’ work in this area tends to be for corporate clients and there has been significant growth in this area, as noted by Stefano Bianchi of Pavia e Ansaldo, who comments that ‘the role of the lawyer is growing… in the implementation of general security and compliance plans and corporate governance models
aimed at ensuring an optimal management of risks related to anti-money laundering, anti-bribery, and so on’.

Despite being a new practice area for 2018, Compliance received a number of submissions (the two don’t always go hand-in-hand), illustrating the appetite among firms for this type of work and the exceptionally busy workloads for teams. In addition to advising on Decree 231 – Italy’s anti-corruption law – firms are also actively advising on the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Anti-bribery Act and it is little surprise, therefore, to see several international firms occupying the top tier.

Football, or more accurately footballers, and cars have long gone together. However, in a country where strikes are commonplace – with walkouts by transport workers a now frequent occurrence – one of the more noteworthy reports of industrial action in recent months, was the news of planned strike by Fiat Chrysler workers in the USB union. The workers (which it is surely safe to assume were not fans of the Old Lady) took umbrage at Juventus’ signing of arguably the world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, for €112m in July 2018. Both Juve and Fiat are owned by one family (the Agnelli family). Workers in the union objected to the purchase of one player at the expense of, as they saw it, investment in the company. While this summer story inevitably grabbed the headlines, largely due to Ronaldo’s ability to generate ‘clicks’, it also illustrates the activity of Italy’s unions. In a country where the unemployment rate stands at 9.7%, union membership appears to be growing. In the employment sphere, firms have seen increased activity in industrial labour relations work, as well as consultations with trade unions, frequently in the context of workforce downsizing. While the uncertainty in the economy has inevitably crossed over into the country’s politics – Italy has gone through prime ministers at a rate that rivals Chelsea’s hire-and-fire managerial policy – two things have remained stable: Juventus’ grip on the Scudetto and the total number of rankings held by Gianni, Origioni, Grippo, Capelli & Partners. The firm has consistently topped the table year on year from 2014 to 2018, with a total of 26 rankings in 2018 alone.

One of the innovative additions to The Legal 500’s coverage in recent times, has been the introduction of the new Hall of Fame category, which recognises lawyers who have been consistently ranked as Leading individuals over a number of years. BonelliErede is leading the way in this area with seven individuals featured as Hall of Famers.

Illustrating the firm’s strength across the board, the individuals are drawn from various different practice areas: Administrative and public law; Banking and finance; Capital markets; Employment; Intellectual property; Real estate and construction; and Tax. Chiomenti is hot on BonelliErede’s
heel though, with five Hall of Famers drawn from Capital markets; Commercial, corporate and M&A; EU and competition; Energy; and Real estate and construction.

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The Bar

In the services industry, the number of one star reviews can be the difference between success and failure. Research shows that consumers who have a bad experience are twice to three times more likely to write an angry review online than those who had a great experience are to post a glowing ecommendation.

This fact does not seem to be lost on chambers. During the UK research process, I lost count of the number of instances a clerk or barrister asked if we had received any wholly negative comments from their referees. The truth is, it’s rare for us to receive the kind of overtly damning feedback you might read about a business on Google, Yelp! or Facebook.

Sure, some responses can be damning with faint praise, but on the whole solicitors and in-house counsel offer largely constructive comments on the service provided by chambers. That being said, a number of trends emerged in this year’s feedback that warrant further investigation.

Access to counsel If the responses to this year’s research are anything to go by, the days when clerks were the gatekeepers to counsel are long gone. I was surprised to see the numbers of law firm partners who, when asked for their views on the service and the clerks’ room, said they had none as they ‘go direct to the barrister’.

While not so great for eliciting feedback on one of the most important functions of chambers, a direct line to their barrister of choice is what solicitors now expect. Of course, this is not uniform and there are plenty of queries that cannot be dealt with by counsel, but it does highlight the changing nature of the solicitor-barrister dynamic. Solicitors want counsel to be truly a part of the team, rather than, as one practitioner suggested of certain silks, ‘an ethereal presence locked away in an ivory tower’.

This lack of interaction between solicitors and barristers is not limited to those in the upper echelons of either profession; it is also an issue in the junior ranks. Chambers should not shy away from introducing law firms to the next generation of talented advocates. More than a few solicitors said they are keen to trial ‘the next stars of the Bar’, but instead are offered ‘the same old counsel again and again’. ‘We want to know who is the future of chambers
before everyone else does,’ said one practitioner.

How much?!

Although it is widely acknowledged that the British don’t like talking about money, you would not know it reading the remarks about counsel fees during the latest round of research.

‘There are sets in the Temple area with glowing reputations, newly renovated offices and experienced barristers I think highly of – but they have such outrageously priced briefs I simply do not have the time or inclination to waste my instructions there,’ said one solicitor.

It is difficult to produce an objective analysis of every fee rate criticism, especially when such criticism comes from some of the most profitable and largest law firms on the planet, but it is obvious that those sets willing to be pragmatic, competitive or ‘commercial’ with their fees are likely to receive repeat instructions.

And while every barrister hopes their clerk will fight hard to get
the best possible deal for them, a less than commercial approach to fee discussions can be counterproductive on counsel’s practice, according to numerous instructing solicitors. ‘At times, there can be a bit of “creep” on fees – the clerks may come back and try to ask for additional fees on matters which should be covered by the brief and refresher fees,’ complained one solicitor. ‘Fee negotiations can be painful,’ said another of an Inner Temple-based chambers.

‘They need to appreciate better the pressures on solicitors in terms of giving fixed fees to clients that cannot be flexed,’ a different partner opined of a leading Chancery set.

‘Chambers tends to be more expensive on fees sometimes and it could be more proactive in discussing and agreeing increases to fee estimates in advance, rather than after the event,’ was the criticism levelled at one tax set.

Very few chambers escaped criticism over the late production of fee notes. Indeed, next to the fees charged, the lateness of fee notes was solicitors’ biggest gripe.

Show me the money!

Fee notes could be produced quicker, particularly in the legal aid arena and inter-parties cases, ‘where up-to-date costs information needs to be available on our files’, said one legal aid lawyer. In fact legal aid billing is a major clash point between some firms and their otherwise favourite chambers.

‘The clerks are very helpful and responsive, however, there seems to be a slight weakness on the understanding of legal aid billing,’ said one referee of a regional set, while another remarked: ‘The only issue I have ever had is in relation to counsel’s fee notes once a case has concluded and is being dealt with by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). As counsel’s bills have to be assessed first this can often hold up our bills.’

‘The costing procedures are not as slick as the client-facing clerks and counsel experience,’ suggested another. ‘It can often be time consuming and lengthy and it would perhaps be helpful if there could be a better understanding of the LAA online costing system to speed the process up.’

One London-based solicitor commented: ‘Chambers could work better when it comes to managing the costs limit in legal aid cases as some barristers not only appear to overcharge for the work done but claim high uplifts which necessitate repeated applications to the LAA for costs increases for the overall case.’

While noting how a large London set has recently expanded its back office support staff, one solicitor remarked: ‘They seem to have a lot of junior admin people who send tetchy emails chasing payment – but demonstrate a lack of understanding as to the way in which barristers work is billed and the delays inherent in getting legal aid costs paid.’

Providing one eyebrow-raising anecdote, another solicitor remarked: ‘I was very annoyed when the clerks (without contacting me first or even sending me a fee note for more than 12 months) applied for a payment on account from the LAA claiming the majority of the costs limit on the legal aid certificate and leaving nothing for us.’

The legal aid divide

Issues with billing is not the only criticism firms level at chambers in the legal aid sphere, however. Those barristers and their chambers which are ‘approachable and committed to’ legal aid work received effusive praise from instructing firms. Solicitors also expressed admiration for those barristers willing to work pro bono ‘when justice requires action’ or when legal aid had not yet been extended to cover counsel instruction.

Of course, it was clear from speaking with firms that they do not expect counsel to work for free, and it is widely acknowledged that the legal aid rates imposed by the government are unfair, to say the least. Of one leading London criminal set, it was said: ‘Through no real fault of their own many excellent counsel are having to do less legal aid defence and do more prosecution, regulatory and other work because, economically, defence work is less and less viable.’

This is equally true for those practising in the regions where, highlighting the presence of advice deserts, one solicitor admitted ‘it is now quite difficult to find good housing counsel prepared to work at legal aid rates’. However, it was also obvious that some solicitors are frustrated with those chambers that have seemingly turned their back on publicly funded work and now treat it as ‘a nuisance’.

Asked how several family sets could improve their service, three different solicitors responded: ‘[Increase] the availability of counsel willing to undertake legal aid for private children and finance cases’; ‘take on more legal aid work’; and ‘be more legal aid friendly’.

Perhaps more alarmingly, a fourth family practitioner griped: ‘There have been occasions where a pupil has been offered as the only counsel available the moment the clerk becomes aware it is legal aid matter. This is deeply frustrating and disappointing, when other chambers provide the Rolls-Royce of service and care to my firm.’

Hello, welcome to chambers

As former UK Bar editor Hayley Eustace highlighted last year, the importance of friendly front-of-house staff should never be underestimated. Unsolicited market feedback from the 2017 research revealed receptionists to be the unsung heroes in chambers; that first smiling face that can put a stressed, overworked solicitor or nervous client at ease with a personal greeting.

The unexpected trend of solicitors and clients commenting on the talents of chambers’ receptions continued into 2018. The same names seen 12 months earlier were once again evident – 2 Hare Court’s Judith Taylor; Linda Evans at 5 Essex Court; Six Pump Court’s Debbie Eggleton – but others have also come to the fore.

Selborne’s reception team was praised as ‘one of the finest we’ve come across’, according one client, while One Pump Court received praise from one public law centre for its ‘brilliant’ reception and admin staff. Elsewhere, Hardwicke’s Angela Perez was described as ‘fantastic’ and praise was also heaped on 12 King’s Bench Walk’s Tracey Oliver, who is described as ‘a superstar’. Not every chambers enjoys the luxury of a full-time reception team, but even if yours does, then don’t assume your work is done by planting a warm body in a seat. For every positive comment received about a set’s receptionists we received an equal number of negative remarks, too.

‘The amount of information requested by the reception can sometimes be unnecessary,’ said one instructing solicitor. ‘The reception team could be a little less challenging when putting through calls,’ said another. ‘Their reception and phone service has slightly deteriorated of late,’ lamented a third.

More than one solicitor criticised the ‘lack of friendliness’ and need for ‘a greater presence’ at two separate sets in particular, while the telephone manner of the team at one leading Chancery set ‘has little to be desired!’, according to the remarks of one client.

Can we use your facilities?

For some solicitors, getting away from their desks can be a real novelty, for others it is a complete headache. Either way, if a solicitor needs to come into chambers, then you had better make sure you have all the mod cons
they expect.

The need for numerous, and ideally sound-proofed, conference suits, as
well as good wifi, were often cited by partners keen not to miss a single
six-minute block of billable time.

If in doubt, feed them

There are three final rules when it comes to caring for solicitors: (1) no bright light, (2) don’t get them wet, and (3) never feed them after midnight, no matter how much they beg. Wait, no, that’s Gremlins. Although, having said that it’s probably not a bright idea – pun intended – to shine a light in their eyes, drench them in water, or – more pointedly – fail to feed them.

For solicitors, a lack of suitable refreshments during lengthy cons is certainly, if not a black mark against a set, then an area they would appreciate improvement in. I admit to exhibiting some surprise at the number of solicitors from different firms whose only constructive criticism was ‘chambers could do with a better biscuit selection’.

One practitioner, although happy with the current confectionery on offer, suggested ‘some Party Rings or Jammie Dodgers for the victory celebrations!’ Indeed, some sets have gone beyond the humble coffee and biscuit to offer a variable cornucopia of refreshments. ‘They even put on the best sandwiches at lunchtime!’ enthused one excitable solicitor.

So there you have it. If all else fails, stuff your solicitor with Jammie Dodgers and they’ll be loyal for life. Maybe. It’s probably best to work on everything else first, though, just in case.

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Top of the game

‘I’d be wary of ascribing special skills to either gender, but I do sometimes wonder if there is something special about female friendship, and whether that provides a particular support to women in the workplace,’ replies Serjeants’ Inn Chambers’ Catherine Calder when asked if women can bring different expertise to leadership roles at the Bar.

‘Certainly I feel lucky to be able to call on the advice of some very clever, canny, and funny female friends both inside and outside chambers,’ she continues, ‘and I’m definitely better at my job as a result. I try hard to provide the same back to my colleagues and contacts.’

2019 will mark two decades since Calder began her career in chambers. After qualifying and practising as a solicitor at Macfarlanes in the early ’90s, she turned to the advertising sector, spending over three years as an account manager at the Bates Dorland agency (part of the Saatchi Group) where she worked on the campaign relating to the formation of Halifax plc and assisted Amnesty International with its refugee campaigns. However, in 1999 the law once again beckoned and she joined Radcliffe Chambers as its director of client care and became one of the first former solicitors to work in a set of chambers.

Few other senior clerks or chief executives can rely on such a range of experience to the benefit of their chambers. ‘I draw on my legal background every day but it is my time in advertising that really informs my approach – it was an excellent education in clients and communications,’ she says. ‘I feel very fortunate to have found a way to apply the commercial and creative approach I learnt at Saatchi to the profession I always wanted to be part of. And it’s the law, it fascinates me.’

In the summer of 2014, after more than a decade at Radcliffe Chambers, Calder made the move from the Chancery set’s home in Lincoln’s Inn to Fleet Street and common law set Serjeants’ Inn. It’s a move she has not regretted, and neither has chambers (23 legal industry awards in just three years has been dubbed ‘the Calder effect’ in some quarters).

Blessed with ‘a longstanding, well-deserved, reputation as one of the best clinical negligence sets in the UK’, Serjeants’ Inn climbed this year’s The Legal 500 UK Bar rankings to challenge the ever-impressive 39 Essex Chambers in our Court of Protection guide. The rise to the top tier follows the set’s involvement in some of the most high-profile CoP cases in recent years and the recruitment of the talented Nageena Khalique QC and Emma Sutton – both previously of No5 Chambers – to add greater strength in depth, both in London and on the circuits.

Barristers at Serjeants’ Inn acted in the recent Charlie Gard, Isaiah Haastrup, and Alfie Evans proceedings, which were highly challenging for all involved,’ says Calder. ‘Our work has legal, human and ethical importance and I’m glad to be part of a team supporting counsel, solicitors, and lay clients with that.’

If there is one thing which sets Serjeants’ Inn apart from other chambers it’s its bespoke client care team which, as Calder explains, she created to work alongside solicitors in tailoring the ‘perfect service’ for lay clients. The feedback from instructing firms speaks for itself. Described as ‘a marvel’ in the latest UK Bar, Calder has ‘set new standards in client care and is to be highly commended for the results she has achieved in recent years’. Or as another solicitor said: ‘[They are] at the top of their game and also at the forefront, particularly with BD being led by Catherine Calder. You know from the first point of contact with them that you’re in safe hands and they are expert at what they do.’

‘It fits the set and follows from the nature of our work and approach,’ says Calder. ‘Clients choose us to steer them through crucial cases, often involving important legal, ethical, and social issues, such as the Alfie Evans proceedings or the Westminster terrorist attack inquests. It informs our “trusted when it’s critical” branding, but more importantly I hope clients see the difference it makes on a day-to-day basis.’

The set’s clerks’ room ‘has always been strong’, and has a ‘great understanding of solicitor needs and time pressures’, according to instructing firms. So how does the client care team differ from a traditional clerking setup? Isn’t client care what clerks are responsible for? ‘Although the teams have separate remits there is some overlap,’ explains Calder. ‘For example, we get involved on major fee negotiations and, of course, the clerks have their own relationships with clients and are building those in hundreds of conversations with our solicitors every day. But the addition of this unique team gives us insight and resource to work in partnership with clients in a new and different way.’

Currently a team of three – comprising Calder, client care manager Isabel Biggs, and client care executive Bronwyn Gray – the set brings in additional resources for specific projects. ‘For example, we retained a former City litigation partner earlier this year to conduct a three-month review of our processes,’ says Calder. ‘They worked with our staff to assess how we handle a case, from the first telephone enquiry to the invoicing at the end, and identified how we might improve the process for clients, barristers, and clerks.’

While Serjeants’ Inn has received plaudits for this innovative approach, Calder is at pains to explain that the new team’s introduction was ‘a natural development of the very client-focused approach’ which chambers had taken long before she arrived four years ago. ‘I suppose it would have been difficult if the clerking team had felt undermined in any way by the creation of the new team, but that didn’t arise – the clerks are held in hugely high regard within chambers and had the confidence to embrace the idea. It is undeniably a significant investment in salaries but, for us, it has proved worthwhile.’

For those sets thinking of replicating the Serjeants’ Inn experience, Calder says the starting point is ensuring your client care and clerking teams are fully aligned: ‘Our teams have always got on well but we don’t take that for granted: there is no magic to this but we do try to take every opportunity to encourage communication – for example, we knocked down walls to put us all in the same space, we have weekly all-staff meetings, we circulate a monthly bulletin on what we have achieved together, we solicit anonymous comments and complaints via a staff survey monkey facility, we have Friday drinks in the clerks’ room and other social events. ‘As a next step we are creating a chambers common room – that will take up expensive space and is difficult given our recent expansion, but we want to encourage people to gather and chat and relax. It’s mainly to promote wellbeing but we also know that it will facilitate the exchange of views and ideas within the set.’

In recognition of their hard work, Calder and chambers’ business director Martin Dyke were appointed the set’s new joint chief executive earlier this year. While Dyke is responsible for operational management and Calder leads the client care initiative, the duo combine forces to deal with the set’s strategic and business planning.

From her new leadership position, Calder (who is also now co-chair of the Legal Practice Management Association) is keen to empower more women to work in chambers: ‘A priority is to develop and promote individual talent both among barristers and staff. In the last two years at Serjeants’ Inn, four female tenants have taken silk and we have been able to promote key women in the clerking and client care teams.

‘This is important for the set as a whole as well as the individuals concerned: they are role models and mentors for others in turn and their success helps to address the unconscious bias which the Law Society’s recent Women in the Law survey identified as the biggest barrier to equality within the legal profession.’ A genuinely flexible approach to working is also key and it is important to highlight how such a policy can benefit men as well as women. However, if the latest Bar Council statistics are accurate (57% of mothers at the Bar were primary carers, compared to just 4% of fathers at the Bar) then we have some way to go before such a policy is distributed evenly across the sexes.

Nevertheless, Calder’s own experience in chambers is heartening: ‘My heads of chambers agreed to my working mainly from home for two months last year when my twins were taking their GCSEs,’ she says. ‘And my experience in interviewing applicants for our set is that men are just as likely to raise flexible working as women, which may be a small sign of progress in itself.’

Despite its history of being a difficult place for women to work and get ahead – especially in a leadership function – the Bar is beginning to modernise. Looking back on her almost 20 years in chambers, I ask Calder what has changed for the better and what is still need in need of reform? ‘The Bar Council identified some key steps following its most recent report on equality and diversity issues (Snapshot: The Experience of Women at the Self-Employed Bar, 2015) so that seems a good place to start. One of the recommendations is that the Bar “promote[s] women’s marketing networks for barristers … specifically focused on developing relationships with professional clients”.

Serjeants’ Inn has already put this into practice by supporting the First 100 Years project, run by charity Spark21, of which Calder is a trustee of. Backed by the Law Society and the Bar Council, the project tracks the journey of women in law since the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act enabled women to enter the profession for the first time in 1919.

‘It holds numerous events – such as a recent debate featuring female Supreme Court judges from jurisdictions around the world – to introduce, inform, and inspire women within the profession. Serjeants’ Inn has seen the benefits in both commercial and charitable terms and I’m sure other sets would do too.’ Having had the benefit of almost a year in her new role, I ask Calder what she believes are the biggest challenges facing a chambers’ CEO. ‘There are many! But a key challenge for the Bar is how to modernise while preserving its identity and independence. Of course, clients expect us to be absolutely at the cutting edge in terms of legal skills and service delivery, but I don’t think anyone wants us to homogenise into standardised corporate machines. It’s a difficult, delicate line to steer.’

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Marketing

A brand is not simply a name, nor is it just a logo, although that’s an important part of it. A brand is the culmination of the organisation’s values and aspirations. Sounds rather lofty, but to understand how to create and use a brand properly for your set, you need to appreciate what a brand actually is and how it works.

Branding is becoming increasingly important within the legal services sector. You might not want to hear this but branding is not an overnight fix, instead it’s a long-term process that’s worth the effort because the benefits of a strong brand identity are wide-reaching. The advantages range from encouraging client loyalty, shortening decision making processes, enabling the positioning of higher pricing, the ability to cross-sell additional services to increasing the value of your business.

Clients who know and recognise a brand (by this we mean they understand exactly what they will get should they choose that brand in terms of client service, value and sometimes even kudos) do not have to go through a lengthy decision making process. They are more likely to purchase services with this perceived trusted brand rather than risk using a lesser known alternative. This is particularly the case when the stakes for the client are high.

Where client loyalty is concerned, obviously the client-experience must have been exceptional. Repeat clients are also more likely to instruct your set on areas of law that they haven’t done previously because they trust the ‘core’ brand. As we know, the best way to increase profits is to leverage from existing clients, so where we can build a strong a trusted brand we can retain clients and cross-sell additional services at a fraction of the cost of acquiring new ones.

A strong, trusted brand also permits us to charge more for services, as clients perceive brands as deserving a higher value than homogenous services. This is particularly useful for direct access sets where they are having to compete against many other law firms and chambers offering similar services
for the same clients. However, to reach this level of brand awareness takes an awful lot of time and investment.

Finally, a brand can have a financial value and can be viewed as an asset. This is particularly useful when looking for external investment in the organisation.

Many of the Magic Circle sets are putting significant amounts of money into branding campaigns designed to build awareness, trust and customer loyalty, as well as to communicate the values of their chambers. However, if you’ve
not got their budget, there are many brand building activities you can do to benefit your organisation. They begin with developing a brand strategy.
Brand strategy There are three main types of brand strategy. You will probably be best served by combining all three.

Corporate branding: This is where the organisation uses its own name for all products and services. Examples include IBM, Nike and Marks & Spencer. Using a top level brand in this way is a cost-effective way to build brand recognition and a ‘global’ image. It uses less design expense as it tends to be logo driven. However, for it to be successful the brand values must be communicated clearly. The potential danger of relying on just corporate branding is that one failure in terms of service can severely damage the brand reputation.

Such branding has historically run counterintuitive for the self-employed Bar where members pride themselves on their independence. However, in an increasingly commercial world, having a strong core brand identity gives members a platform for differentiation from other sets before then adding on their own unique characteristics. It’s worth noting that ‘Chambers of XYZ’ is not a good idea for brand building. Brands, ideally, need to be tied to fixed components where the values of the brand can be associated with a firm foundation. The rotating nature of head of chambers does not lend itself to the much needed brand security, in the same way a global brand is not tied to its CEO. The ‘head of’ scenario can also be perceived as an ego exercise that by its nature is not consistent with strong brand values.

Examples of successful corporate branding in the Bar include sets such as Fountain Court, Keating and 39 Essex where, over time, the sets have positioned themselves as market leaders in specific practice areas by providing first-class clerking services alongside excellent advocacy. The results are two-fold; first, clients know what they will receive in terms of service when instructing members from those sets; and, second, the sets can command a premium while retaining loyalty. Furthermore, the strong core brand enables sets to expand their marketshare by either offering services for additional practice areas or by expanding their practices overseas, or indeed, in the case of the Magic Circle, it enables them to do both.

Family branding: For sets this would be the practice areas. It involves using a secondary brand image and name for the specific practice areas. It leverages from the main corporate brand but then applies that to the relevant sectors. It enables those sectors to carry specific messages that will resonate with potential clients, and so it needs to be applied with care, particularly if you are considering cross-selling additional services at a later date. In short, it
enables sets to leverage their core brand to promote lesser-known
services or practice areas, building awareness of those practice areas
and enabling the cross-selling of services.

It’s important, when using family brands long term, to maintain a balanced portfolio. This is difficult given the impact that socio-economic drivers may have on a set and on their ability to provide relevant services to the desired standard. Often one practice area suffers at the expense of another. It’s therefore key to be aware of the potential for imbalance and to formulate a rebalancing strategy for when normal market conditions resume.

This is also true when expanding overseas. When planning your strategy you’ll need to take into account what the short-term market needs are and how you will meet them as well as anticipating the medium and long-term market requirements so you can offer complementary services as a means to introducing your complete portfolio. Entering an overseas market with an established dominant brand will get you a foot in the door, but it will be the balanced portfolio of family brands that enable you to stay there.

Individual branding: in the consumer market this is the level of branding we are most familiar with; Kit Kat, Coca-Cola etc. In law, it relates to the individual barrister who has excelled in a particular field of expertise. This is one of the reasons that directory rankings are hugely important as they provide an independent view of who is the best in any given area. Thus utilising a strong set brand and adding to that a strong individual brand will yield better results (and more instructions) than not combining the two.

Using a mixture of the three branding approaches enables you to promote your set’s services to individuals and companies simultaneously to best effect.

Understanding your brand Identifying what your brand stands for can be a complex business. What are the set’s values? What kind of image is best associated with those words? What colours will provide an accurate reflection of your strengths and markets (for example, blue represents calm, green environmental, orange communication)? It’s no wonder that companies often turn to brand agencies to help them with this. However, if you don’t have that kind of money, you can do it yourself, just be warned it takes a lot of time
and effort.

You’ll need to understand what your brand position is at the moment. You’ll need to do this by surveying the market – what do your current, former and prospective clients think about your business? Why do they instruct you and how do you compare with the competition? What key words do they associate with their experiences? From here you should be able to pull common threads and develop those into a more cohesive branding value statement. From that you can look at symbols and colours associated with those words and phrases, as well as any logo you may already have – there’s no point in throwing everything away just to be trendy.

It’s vital for merging organisations to truly evaluate their respective brands with a view to highlighting the strongest elements and also any weak or ailing brands. Sometimes you need to act with brutal calculation to dispense with toxic brands in favour of building a brighter future. If a brand is truly toxic speed is of the essence; the faster you can dispense with a failed brand, the faster you can rebuild and move on. These decisions, while correct, rarely sit well with members who built the original brand. Thus diplomacy is required alongside a multi-step process for diminishing the ailing brand in favour of the stronger one.

Once you have your brand statements, your logo and your colour board (be aware that logos will need to be printed in many formats – therefore you
will need full colour, black and white and reduced colour or single pallet variants capable of being reproduced in all sizes) you’re ready to start communicating your brand. You may be tempted into a ‘strap line’ such as ‘Good with…’ in the case of the Co-op. However, you must consider all the scenarios in which this line may be used. Clearly they were on to something with food and banking but it all went a bit pear-shaped when it came to the funeral services. You also need to consider translating any strap lines into other languages for international markets or clients. Again, you really need to be careful here. The Pepsi slogan ‘Come alive with the Pepsi Generation’ suffered somewhat in translation in Taiwan as it became ‘Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead’.

Communicating a brand

Now you have your brand and image propositions sorted, you will need to communicate your brand. You will need to issue everyone with brand guidelines, so they know exactly what is expected of them and the messages they need to communicate. Brand communications include website, social media, email, documentation, presentation materials, and telephone messages to name but a few.

There is no underestimating the power of brands and the damage that people can inadvertently do to them. The whole set must understand the brand and the reasoning behind it as well as understanding the values and buy into them fully. They must understand that the business is built on the brand and the benefits the brand will deliver for them. If they don’t it will fail.

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Better the devil you chose: The truth of the counter offer

Better the devil you know, as the old adage goes. When it comes to staff retention, however, this isn’t the case. If somebody resigns then it should actually be ‘better the devil you chose’. The dynamics of a counter offer are always tricky and will inevitably come with a health warning. As a recruiter I have seen people be tempted by counter offers: salary rise, better work-life balance, and/or a promise of progression are usually all on the table. For some people these things might be able to provide a fix, but only if it addresses the real root of why somebody started looking to leave.

As an employer there is a responsibility to be honest about what you can give your employees and a good employer will look critically at themselves to say what they are and are not able to do. This is essential for a successful counter offer. The two most common push factors which lawyers speak to me about are either their work-life balance, or their opportunities for progression and development – and both of these can potentially be addressed by a counter offer.

When somebody says they want to leave because of work-life balance this sometimes conjures up images of people who want to clock in at 8:59am and leave by 5:31pm, but this is rarely the case. Usually it means someone wants to have dinner with family, know they can commit to a regular engagement once a week, or not work on Friday evenings. If you can genuinely provide the change they are looking for your employee will be extremely grateful and you will, probably, see their productivity increase. If, however, there really isn’t the scope for what somebody is looking for in the current structure then it is essential to be honest with the employee and not try to keep them for the short term. This will breed resentment, productivity will decrease, and you will have the same resignation back on your desk in a matter of months.

Similarly, when somebody is looking to leave in search of progression there will always be the temptation to get one more year, one more quarter from a high performer. Again, honest introspection is essential. Telling somebody they will get a promotion or receive a secondment might allay the immediate problem, but it must be genuinely possible to deliver on this promise. If the team structure or firm strategy is not aligned with the individual’s aspirations, or if it involves a different timeline, then this must be communicated truthfully. To not do so will inevitably result in a loss of trust; the individual promised X in two years only to then be told it will be another two years is much more resentful than the individual who is told it will be four years from the start. Honesty is appreciated and a counter offer which says, ‘we can’t give you X in one year, but we can give it to you in two’ is more likely to succeed.

The least successful counter offers are the ones which think money is the only answer. When I speak with lawyers this is almost never the sole reason why somebody wants a move. Everybody wants to be paid well, but the person whose move is money-motivated will be looking for at least a 25% increase in remuneration. The problem this creates is that either (a) You actually won’t counter offer more money so the exercise is a waste of time, or (b) You counter offer enough but this puts an individual significantly outside the earnings of their peers.

Of these two situations (b) is by far the worst (even though it may solve the immediate issue). Firms who go down this route will find that the other employees discover the counter offer and become, understandably, disgruntled. At this point outcomes vary: there is either a pay raise for everybody to the new level; a surge in the number of employees feeling undervalued and tempted to make a move; or the firm will ultimately have to bring the counter-offered individual back in line with their peers, normally by freezing their salary bringing you back to the starting point. None of those three outcomes could be classed as a success and you
have now wasted time, money and energy.

The best employers promote two-way honesty and should start well before a surprise resignation. If your firm is able to discuss what individuals are looking for in a forum where they know it’s not jeopardising their careers then you are more likely to have an early ‘heads up’ about issues on an employee’s mind. This will enable you to choose, together, whether that is something which the firm can offer or not. Having that conversation not only properly and honestly, but also early, will mean your team member knows what to expect. And that doesn’t always mean they will leave. I have seen much higher levels of frustration from people who feel they have been misled than from those who know they have been given the truth. If, however, the team member does think they will still want to move on in future then you will be prepared and able to choose a replacement in advance. The worst case scenario is that somebody (who was always going to leave) leaves happy with the firm and their time with you.

The best strategy for counter offers is to avoid them completely by already knowing the concerns and push factors for your employees and having regular conversations about the possibility or impossibility of resolving those concerns. Indeed, when a resignation comes in you always need to get to the root cause of it. If you can honestly look at the problem and fix it, then do. If you can’t then you should accept the resignation and focus your energy on choosing somebody new. You don’t want to be six months down the line with lost time, lost energy, lost money and the same lost employee.

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Want change? Then start something different

Equality and wellbeing in the workplace – including in the legal profession – is increasingly under the spotlight around
the world.

According to the latest statistics, from the New Zealand Law Society, women account for close to 70% of law graduates. Of the 13,103 lawyers currently practising in the country, 6,553 are women and 6,550 are men, yet women account for less than 39% of partners or directors in
law firms.

In the nation’s 14 largest firms, women make up just under 28% of partners, while out of 307 Queen’s Counsel appointments made since 1907 just 34 have been women. Speaking in September 2017, ahead of the 124-year anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in New Zealand, Law Society president Kathryn Beck said: ‘As a nation we are proud of our status as the first country to give women the vote, but the legal profession needs to work together to continue to advance and retain our women lawyers.’

MinterEllisonRuddWatts has a history of encouraging gender diversity in the legal sector. An early example is appointing New Zealand’s first female partner of a large law firm in 1960. At present, the firm’s partnership comprises 30% women partners and board membership of 40%. However, partner and board member Sarah Sinclair recognises the need to continue to lead diversity initiatives to reap the business benefits.

While having the right policies in place is important, the real measure of an environment is its culture and how people behave, says Sinclair. ‘This firm has a strong focus on values of openness, honesty, equality, respect, acceptance, flexibility, wellbeing, and the health and safety of its people. People and culture must be at the heart of any business to succeed in today’s competitive environment.

‘As a partnership we are unanimous that people are our greatest asset, and hold the key to achieving our vision of being New Zealand’s firm of choice. We value a culture and workplace where all employees can thrive and give their best with confidence – where all our people can bring their “whole selves” to work.

‘Diversity is critical to an inclusive high-performance culture – and that’s diversity in all its forms. Achieving gender equality through women having leadership responsibilities is important, but additional programmes and initiatives that address underlying issues are essential.’

Today’s workforce – especially the millennial generation – is demanding more from employers, seeking roles with businesses that value and respect them as people with interests and commitments outside of work, so it’s vital firms adapt and are transparent around their values.

‘There is no doubt that the workforce is changing, so traditional approaches need to be challenged to see if they’re still fit for purpose,’ says Sinclair. ‘New tools are also needed to allow people to make informed decisions when selecting an employer.

‘We are operating in a world where our expectations of ourselves and each other continue to increase, and in an industry renowned as being stressful and demanding. It’s important to acknowledge that we all have times when things get hard and affect our ability to perform.’

AnchorMe International research suggests lawyers experience higher rates of depression, anxiety and stress compared to other professions. A recent study of 400 lawyers by the New Zealand Law Society found that 40% of respondents were deemed to have good overall wellbeing, while 53% were found to have at least one area of wellbeing that could be significantly improved. The remaining 7% were classified as having poor overall wellbeing, and needed to improve some key lifestyle behaviours.

In response to a greater focus on lawyer wellbeing, MinterEllisonRuddWatts recently introduced an innovative programme to offer further support to its people. The programme, called AnchorME, is in addition to traditional support structures offered by employee assistance programmes and is the first line of defence to ensure the wellbeing of the firm’s people.

‘Our culture is built on people first principles, and it’s vital that all of our people feel safe, respected and that they belong,’ explains Sinclair. ‘AnchorME is a group of volunteer ambassadors from every level of the firm who are trained and available to offer additional support, giving our people another avenue to reach out and seek help. The ambassadors listen and guide towards next steps, and are tasked with observing and asking, “are you OK?”.’

As Sinclair explains, AnchorME supports the firm’s wider empowerment, diversity, and inclusion initiatives. ‘We value the wellbeing of our people at work and in life – you can’t separate the two. We want to empower our people to make a difference, honour diversity and ensure that they feel they belong, even when facing challenges.’

A policy or formal programme is a clear way to mark a firm’s commitment to wellbeing and diversity, and should stem from a well-articulated strategy that is easily understood and supported at all levels. That means it should come from and be understood by the management board down. ‘Our Empowerment, Diversity and Inclusion to 2022 strategy seeks opportunities to encourage more diversity in the legal profession, and identifies how our firm offers support as this happens. It sets out our targets and what we will do to reach them,’ explains Sinclair.

An ‘Empower Leadership’ team and a wider ‘Empower’ team drive initiatives across the firm; the Empower team sets annual objectives and programmes which are agreed by the partnership, ensuring there is total buy-in and clarity for performance against objectives. Staff wellbeing and belonging is at the centre of these objectives.

Processes have also been designed to support these principles, including recruitment, employment, learning and development, reward and recognition and internal promotion practices. All of these processes have specific steps to address inclusion and evaluate diversity.

‘The strategy and the way it’s enacted has delivered tangible benefits for the firm including a further lift in staff engagement, creating greater respect and understanding of differences between our people, and improved collaboration to provide better business outcomes for our clients.’

The firm say AnchorME and its broader wellbeing programme is key to reaping the rewards of diversity and inclusion. The firm is adapting its priorities to incorporate feedback from its people. It takes a holistic view and includes access to seminars, training and support on topics like mindfulness, stress management, nutrition, resilience, physical exercise, and mental wellbeing.

‘We have a number of campaigns throughout the year to ensure our people have the tools to look after their “whole self”, which is vital for our firm’s ongoing success,’ adds Sinclair.

Good wellbeing is too important for firms to be secretive about their own successes. When asked what other firms should do to encourage diversity and guard their staff’s wellbeing, Sinclair offers the following advice: ‘Make a start – it’s often the hardest part, but if you want something to change, you need to do something different. Create a conversation with your peers, board, HR, or culture team by highlighting the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workplace with people at its centre.

‘Check-in with people at all levels of your firm to find people who share your appetite for change,’ she continues. ‘It’s OK to start small, but be sure you have the commitment and support to succeed. Once you start, you’ll see the benefits, which creates the momentum to keep going.’