Camerons' Euro push looks fine on paper...

Has Camerons’ strategy for competing with larger rivals through a refocused CMS network got legs?

The initiative, first reported in June by Legal Week, at least has simplicity on its side. It centres on focusing Camerons’ efforts on the wider European area, rather than making attempts to tap Asia, the Middle East or the US. Since the only presence that Camerons’ had outside the European region was its three-lawyer Hong Kong branch, the decision to shut the office won’t cause much operational hassle, though clearly it sends a message about where the firm is going.

The concept of law firms below the magic circle having to narrow its focus to compete with larger rivals is obviously nothing new. Camerons’ contention is that it will get a bit of market differential from rivals and a competitive advantage by going very wide in Europe but doing nothing elsewhere. It’s an interesting concept, though the suspicion is that it would probably have been a bit more effective if implemented two years back, when Camerons’ respected Central & Eastern European practice was more obviously leading the local market.

The wrinkle is that Camerons hopes to achieve its aim through its CMS network, which includes sizeable French firm Bureau Frances Lefebvre and Germany’s Hasche Sigle. Part of how the firm hopes to achieve this is investing more in practice integration, including a joint conflicts model (which would also boost its deal league rankings) and bringing partner appraisals in line across the network. At present, the firms spend very little on central marketing and administration costs – just 1%-2% of turnover a year. Part of the current plans would see that rise to 3%-4% a year, which in Camerons’ case would mean spending several million pounds more annually.

Likewise, Camerons is currently looking at rebranding the entire network, probably under a version of the CMS banner (CMS Legal?). The end result, in theory, would look and act much more like a single firm but still have financially and legally separate partnerships.

The theory is credible, particularly as the kind of operation that would appeal to large foreign companies coming to Europe and hoping to sign up a handful of advisers to handle all their work region-wide. But while it is possible to see some law firms making the model work, it is less certain that Camerons is one of them: the firm has had several unsettled years of below-trend performance and has lost some notable talent across its much-touted foreign offices.

Camerons and CMS need something to galvanize the business but if this doesn’t succeed, the firm won’t get another chance to compete at this level in Europe.

alex.novarese@legalweek.com