Interview: Tim Stubbs, partner, Salans

In 2000, Tim Stubbs had completed six years managing the Russian, St Petersburg office of Salans. He spent the next two years working in house with one of the firm’s clients, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Redevelopment (EBRD). Caroline Poynton talks to him about the experience, what he learned and why other senior lawyers might consider a similar move.

Tell us about your time as managing partner in St Petersburg

I opened the St Petersburg office in 1993 with another associate, Philipp Windemuth. Within the year, we were both made partners. For several years, we successfully co-managed the office before he decided that he wanted to move back to London – he is now a partner in the Paris office. I remained in St Petersburg as managing partner, for a time sharing that responsibility with another close friend and partner, Bob Zafft. We worked hard to grow the office from three lawyers in 1993 to eight lawyers in 2000. The current MP, Glenn Kolleeny has done a fine job in continuing to build the team to 17 lawyers. It has been a very successful period and we are now celebrating our tenth anniversary.

What is it like to practise law in Russia?

Philipp and I, together with our first Russian lawyer in the office, Elena Barikhovskaya had all been students here at Leningrad State University. We feel a deep commitment to the city and the office. The role of ex-patriot lawyers in our firm’s Russian offices has been different to many typical London City-based firms. We see ourselves as truly Russian lawyers. We all have a very strong interest in the region; we’ve studied Russian history, culture and language and we feel that we’ve become an important piece in the make-up of society here, in helping to develop the economy and integrating Russia into the world economy. Of course, we also have a full understanding of Russian law.

What was your motivation for taking time out to work with the EBRD?

Having worked with Salans since April 1991, I felt that I wanted to play an active part in the firm’s future. I had ten years of Russian corporate experience but I knew that I could play a more valuable role by expanding my skills into project finance, an area that I believe will play a crucial role in the development of the economy in Russia and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.

From a personal standpoint, I also wanted to expand my skill base. I knew that our firm had done a lot of work with the EBRD and both teams have worked hard to develop the relationship. We had done this, however, from the outside as an external law firm and it seems to me that the better that you know the client, the more effectively you can service that client.

These issues were pointing to one thing for me: take some time off from the firm to work at the EBRD. I could offer EBRD my skills and knowledge of Russian language and law and they could offer me the opportunity to work in project finance in Russia and other jurisdictions such as Poland, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

What did you learn about clients during your time with the EBRD?

I have always felt that it is so important to get to know your client, what their internal procedures are, what their organisational structure is like. How many firms take instructions from in-house counsel without really knowing the pressures that the client might face? Firms can make a lot of misguided assumptions, which can lead to ineffective work.

In Russia, I had worked for a variety of clients, including one or two key clients such as Gillette. It was a good experience where we all felt very much part of a team. I wanted to see if that was something we could do with the EBRD. Working in house for two years has given me the opportunity to get to know the bankers, the life of a project from start to finish, the pressures, the lawyers, everything about the interests and the operation of the bank. In the long run, I hope this will give me the ability to work far more closely with the EBRD to ensure that they can get their job done in an effective way, and that doesn’t create additional stress in their personal lives. I could have been in private practice, continuing to work in Russian corporate law, and I would have done very well, but at the same time, I felt that there was a real opportunity to serve the EBRD in a better way and to meet my own and our firm’s mutual interests. It was a golden opportunity.

Now that you are back in the London office of Salans, how do you look back on your time with the EBRD?

It has fulfilled my expectations in ways I didn’t even imagine. I have learnt things that I want to apply not only in the EBRD relationship but also with other clients. It is so important for outside counsel to have perspectives from the inside because otherwise, you just don’t know what its like to be a client. Until you step into the client’s shoes, it all remains very theoretical. My time with the EBRD was a real eye-opener. I can now make sure every client is happy because I understand their needs better.

I have also had the benefits of being able to work with several dozen different law firms during my time with the EBRD. I had a close look at what the competition offers and what it’s like to work with a good or bad lawyer, to experience good and bad service and to appreciate what works and what doesn’t. It has also given me the opportunity to be far more self-critical about the way my team and I are servicing our clients and to use my experience to build best practice within the firm as a whole.

It is very rare to hear of a senior lawyer taking a secondment. How would you sum up the benefits of such a move?

Salans has regularly made secondments to key clients where we’ve sent out second or third year lawyers but, to my recollection, we’ve not done this before at the higher level. A secondment at partner level, however, can help career development and ensure a more solid relationship with the client. Equally, a partner has the opportunity to develop new skills to address a growing market opportunity in a particular sector or region.

Timothy Stubbs is a partner at Salans. He can be contacted at: tstubbs@salans.com.