Linklaters has been rated the best-managed UK commercial law firm by its peers for the second year running, according to new research that shows that lawyers believe the management of law firms is improving.
According to the latest Legal Week/ EJ Legal Big Question survey, more than one in four (29%) of respondents regard Linklaters as the best-managed firm among the UK’s legal elite, just ahead of City rival Slaughter and May with 26% of the vote.
The result sees Linklaters reprise its performance in 2006 when it was also voted as the best-managed firm, although then it secured 39% of the vote.
Linklaters and Slaughters finished comfortably ahead of magic circle rivals Allen & Overy (9%), Clifford Chance (9%) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (3%), while DLA Piper won 9% of the vote.
Linklaters banking partner Nick Syson said: “Two things prompted a greater emphasis on management. There was a downturn in the market, which made people think about how they managed their business, and there was also a push for greater transparency in numbers.”
Lovells was rated bottom of the
The survey, which canvasses more than 100 senior lawyers, also shows nearly nine out of 10 (86%) of respondents believe the standard of management at law firms has improved in recent years. Seventy percent said it has ‘improved’ while a further 16% said it has ‘greatly improved’. Just 3% said it has become worse.
Eversheds London chief Cornelius Medvei commented: “With the continual drive for profitability and the sheer number of near misses [of law firm collapses], people have realised the importance of getting their management absolutely right.”
Pinsent Masons managing partner David Ryan pointed to the increasing input of major clients. He said: “There is a growing flavour from bluechip clients, all of whom put a lot of store in management and do not see why it should be any different for their lawyers.”
Linklaters banking partner Claire Watson concurred, saying: “You look at clients and see things they do successfully and think: ‘If that works for them, then why don’t we do something similar in our own business?’”
However, despite an improvement over recent years, many lawyers still struggle to accept the authority of management as a genuine tool for improving their firm’s overall performance.
According to the survey results, four out of 10 (41%) senior lawyers see management as nothing more than a necessary tool in modern-day business, with 13% of respondents suggesting fee earners still actively resent the concept.
Medvei commented: “Many lawyers see management as a necessary evil and the vast majority are still not interested. The biggest challenge of all for law firms is finding the people who have the requisite skills to be able to do it well.”
Watson added: “For senior partners who have never been managed, it can sometimes be harder to get used to but if you have come through a system where there has always been central management then it is something you take for granted because you are aware of the benefits it can bring to the business.”
Syson commented: “The bulk of any resentment tends to be directed at mid-level everyday management. However, it is like referees in football — if they are good you do not even notice them.”
Predictably, 43% of lawyers showed admirable modesty by rating the present quality of leadership at their own firms as ‘excellent’ with 51% more dubbing it ‘good’ or ‘OK’.More news, deals and comment on Linklaters