How to Secure a Training Contract

HOW TO SECURE A TRAINING CONTRACT!

Let’s learn more about the legal world

With Clear Law:

GOING GLOBAL

1. Best Friend Networks

2. Alliances

3. Swiss Vereins

4. Mergers

5. Full Financial Integration

1. Best Friend Networks

The best friends network falls somewhere in the middle, a tight-knit network that seeks to work with global law firms. This is used most notably by Slaughter and May. The firm maintains strategic connections with firms like BonelliErede (Italy), Bredin Prat (France) and others to refer work to on applicable jurisdictional matters. It’s an advantage in that it leaves out the risk and liabilities of opening an office in any of those jurisdictions yet loses out on having that physical presence in those areas.

2. Alliances

Alliances (aka strategic partnerships) involve collaborating with other companies to pursue a shared goal - all while both companies remain separate legal entities. In most cases, a large corporation enters into a collaboration agreement with a promising startup to:

• Boost their internal innovative culture

• Gain access to new technologies

• Experiment with new business models

Corporate Growth through alliances

Corporate partnerships provide access to a myriad of resources and assets that might be missing from your company’s arsenal.

Benefits of Alliances

1. Flexibility - easier to form, manage and run than acquisitions. Less regulated, giving both parties more flexibility as long as they’re aligned on their goals and targets.

2. Access to valuable assets - Partnerships enable companies to pool their resources and reach growth goals much more effectively than they would have on their own.

3. Boost of entrepreneurship - this makes companies more competitive, inspiring new ways to leverage corporate assets to deliver new growth and revenue sources.

4. Speed - Partnerships provide access to new technologies, concepts and business models quicker than if they had to be developed internally from scratch.

Challenges of Alliances

1. A Lack of alignment - challenges can arise due to unclear goals, unrealistic expectations or timeframes that might be unattainable. Maturity misalignment can also be a challenge

2. Learning from experimentation - using lean experimentation to validate new ventures reduces risk and provides valuable insights. Even failed ventures provide learnings that can help improve existing offerings or create entirely new value propositions.

3. Control issues - entering into a partnership means both parties should have a say in the direction of a joint venture or project. Maintaining this balance can be challenging. The dynamic will ultimately backfire because it can keep the smaller partner from making the quick decisions and pivots it takes to be truly innovative.

3. Swiss Vereins

A legal entity under Swiss law is used for a variety of purposes such as non-profit organisations (e.g. sports and social clubs) and as a legal form for business organisations. The members of Swiss Verein are not liable for the debts or actions of other members and, typically, do not share revenue or pool of profits. This structure has been used by global law firms to present themselves as a single branded entity while the member firms are separate legal entities that provide legal services independently, and are subject to regulation, in their respective jurisdictions.

DLA Piper, Dentons, Baker McKenzie and Norton Rose Fulbright use the Swiss Verein model.

The Swiss Verein model gives law firms many benefits. It lets them:

• Expand quickly

• refer work to each other (generating more fees), and

• benefit from shared branding (makes it easier to build a reputation)

These firms impress clients with how many offices they have across the globe, making it sound like a massive firm. But one office is not responsible for the other’s fault, because they separate from each other at times of financial difficulties and malpractice lawsuits.

Mergers

Why do Companies merge or acquire?

In the legal world, organic growth is hard to find and it can be very slow. Clients like to shop around, which can make it hard to retain existing business. It’s competitive - other law firms can poach valuable partners, and bring their clients with them. Whilst entering new markets is attractive, it’s expensive, often subject to heavy regulation and means challenging the existing players in that market.

A combined firm is bigger, less vulnerable to external shocks, and has access to more lawyers and clients. The three-way merger between Olswang, Nabarro and CMS is a good example.

Mergers speed up entry into other markets. If Dentons opened an office in China, it would have been difficult. It’s a different market. Chinese clients, especially state-owned enterprises are less likely to pay high legal fees. Local expertise and personal relationships play a bigger role. Dentons merged with Dacheng - a firm with decades of experience and an established reputation in the Chinese market. Now Denton’s can serve clients investing in China and Chinese clients looking for outbound work. (Worth millions)

5. Full financial integration

An example of this would be the merger between legacy firms Bryan Cave and Berwin Leighton Paisner. Newly formed BCLP combined two organisations into one firm and shared one profit pool.

The biggest pro is the fact this creates a symmetrical internal structure and a more cohesive culture.

The disadvantage includes liabilities being shared and like with all changes in law firms, those changes will be met with dissent from those who do not want the integration to go through. This can potentially result in teams or partners leaving for other firms.

Good Luck! To all those looking forward to this year's application cycle. Stay tuned for more...

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