The view of the market seems to be that the top few law firms are pulling rapidly ahead of the competition. That commanding position is being driven by a global strategy and business model that, for Clifford Chance (CC), is now maturing after 20 years of investment and planning. We are the only international firm with significant resource in all three principal markets — the US, Europe and
Back in the 1980s, CC set out a strategy to follow its clients’ global approach. We were probably the first law firm to act on the perception that clients were becoming global in their business plans and would need co-ordinated full-service legal advice across the markets in which they were operating. To that end we have developed global practices across the full service range. Rather than operating on a ‘hub and spoke’ basis — with the majority of lawyers in one market and other offices radiating out from, and managed by, a home centre — we have followed a truly international strategy. We now have more lawyers outside the
Continued globalisation
Building on our model, we will continue to put more resources into the
Convergence
Operating on an international basis is far more than a geographical proposition. We will continue to drive convergence of techniques and standards across all our offices. Global clients expect the same levels of service wherever we are supporting their business, and we are instilling globally consistent styles and standards in the provision of internal as well as external services. This means ensuring that we build a recognisably ‘Clifford Chance’ way of doing things that applies to everything we do, everywhere we operate.
Working in a flatter world
One of the enablers of that convergence is the ability to perform services for a user in, say, the
People
Of course, underpinning all our strategic aims is our ability to attract and retain the right people. And the war for talent shows no sign of abating. We will continue to work hard on differentiating ourselves as the natural first choice firm for graduates. Our appointment of a people partner, with global responsibility for looking at our people policies and practices, and a partner leading development and learning globally, demonstrates our commitment to this, as does the creation of the CC ‘Principles’ that help further articulate and cement the bonds that unite all of us with a global vision of what we are as a firm and where we want to be.
David Childs is managing partner of Clifford Chance.
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