The fresh five-year strategy, which will take effect from 2008, rejects the possibility of the firm expanding outside its Bristol headquarters and commits it to focus on a handful of industry sectors.
The document, which was rolled out to staff at the firm’s annual general meeting yesterday (3 October), reads: “We will continue to stand out from the legal crowd by pursuing organic growth from a single site, not relying on a merger to make up for performance challenges.”
Burges Salmon said that by remaining as a single-site operation it would have better internal communications and avoid the inter-office tensions suffered by some other firms on issues such as differential pay.
The 69-partner firm will now attempt to grow across specialist practice areas including environmental, renewables, nuclear, agriculture and rail.
Senior partner Stephen McNulty commented: “Burges Salmon already finds itself competing with the top firms in a number of markets. Our aim is not to take on the magic circle head-on — that is unrealistic — [but] what we can do is expand on our existing reputation.”
The plan reveals Burges Salmon has identified a range of key rivals against which it will measure its performance, including Eversheds, Macfarlanes and Osborne Clarke.
The firm will also unsurprisingly invest in core practice areas such as corporate and commercial, litigation, banking and property.
Burges Salmon’s network of international referral firms is also in line for expansion. The document states: “We will ensure we are able to offer support in other jurisdictions at least comparable to that which other top 50 firms offer.”
The news comes after Burges Salmon earlier this year sealed a referral relationship with South African practice Deneys Reitz.
The overhaul, which has been overseen by McNulty and managing partner Guy Stobart, marks a rare strategic overhaul by Burges Salmon, which is now the only top commercial firm to stick to a single-site strategy.