When we talk about giant law firms, we tend to describe them as amoeba-like behemoths expanding their will into every corner of the globe. There’s certainly something to that description, especially when you consider the way some of these firms expand into new markets by developing more outposts connected to a central hub or two. But there’s another way to look at expansion — if a firm’s doing it right — and while it may seem counter-intuitive it’s really possible to use expansion to get more local.
After adding another 300 lawyers this week, Joe Andrew went on a whirlwind tour of Indiana and Kentucky to meet with the clients who will benefit from the latest Dentons tie-up. The Dentons global chair took some time between his third client event in Indianapolis and his first in Louisville to chat about the Dentons strategy and how he sees it as critical to bringing law firms in line with client expectations.
Because where are clients? While law firms cling to their New York or Chicago headquarters, top tier clients in every industry are scattered across the country. “Think about the UK,” Andrew says, “70 percent of their top companies are located in London. Of the Russell 3000, only 7 percent are in New York.” When put that way, why wouldn’t law firms endeavor to meet clients where they are? It’s the model accounting firms follow. Consulting firms too. Even the major architecture firms are all over the place. Professional services are meant to be locally available and it’s frankly strange that Dentons seems to be pursuing this strategy all by itself among law firms.
We already know that clients are trying to scale back on the number of law firms they employ. Andrew points out that this is for good reason — it’s expensive to keep a lot of law firms on the books. Hiring regional firms or local counsel all over the place requires more in-house staff to keep everything covered. One law firm capable of delivering everywhere is an instant cost-saving for clients.
Speaking of the Big 4, this model of offering access to global talent through local representatives is the whole basis of industry concerns about accounting firms upending the Biglaw model in the United States. The thinking goes that when the Big 4 finally enters the legal practice space in earnest, it will leverage its established local relationships as accountants and consultants with foreign entities doing business in the U.S., crowding out the Biglaw firms currently soaking up that business. Dentons, who counts the Big 4 among its best clients in the U.S. and best competitors abroad — particularly in Latin America where the accounting firms are already practicing — appears to be positioning itself to be ahead of the game when the practice bar falls.
Andrew acknowledges the Big 4 as inspirations behind this strategy — not out of fear but out of common sense. “What their global presence allows them to understand is process and relationships. They get that there is talent everywhere to assist clients.” This commitment to local talent was the subject of a recent essay where Andrew focused on the traditional law firm model as colonialist. It’s not a stretch: firms run Latin America practices out of New York, Africa offices out of Lisbon, Asia practices out of San Francisco… if there are physical locations in other countries, they can resemble glorified local counsel.
“The lawyers in these countries… they all went to Harvard and Yale. They all have the same smartphones and access to the same information as U.S.-based attorneys but they have even more because they know the community,” Andrew told me. “It’s great to have people in the U.S. with expertise but that’s not how you capture work. There’s talent in Bogota… people who live and work in that community.”
And that goes for the domestic practice as well. Local attorneys and potential clients belong to the same alumni groups and local charity boards and churches and clubs. That’s as true of Indianapolis as it is Bogota. Dentons doesn’t understand why a firm wouldn’t want to have as many attorneys with local insights, connections, and know-how as possible.
For Dentons, getting bigger is all about getting closer.
Earlier: Biglaw Firm Completes Massive… Merger?… Acquisition?… What Should We Call This?
Biglaw Chair Slams The Traditional Law Firm Model
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.