How far is too far? Following the path of a mover and shaker

Nigel Knowles really doesn’t need to raise his profile. His reputation as managing partner of DLA precedes him as his firm marches on its seemingly never-ending expansion. Caroline Poynton, however, couldn’t resist trying to find out a little more about the man at the top of a firm that preaches values and vision and proclaims itself to be different.

Walking into the London office of DLA feels a little like walking into a club-class international departures lounge, with its 20-foot glass revolving doors leading onto a broad concourse, its space interrupted by people scurrying back and forth, briefcases in hand. I wait in line at the busy check-in desk, while receptionists expertly juggle the new arrivals with an endless stream of incoming calls. I notice the charity box with a staggering £500,000 target before collecting my visitor’s pass and moving to the waiting area. This in itself is impressive, with menus offering all kinds of refreshments, from sparkling water to chai tea, accompanied by a shelf of broadsheets and various television screens for those looking for some lighter distraction. Before long, I am called to meet Nigel Knowles but I’ve already taken on board a key message: DLA is fun, friendly and cares, but this is a law firm that means business.

Knowles became managing partner on 1 January 1996, exactly a year after being made deputy managing partner. It was the culmination of a steady career development in which he joined the firm as an article clerk in 1978, and followed it through its numerous mergers to become the managing partner of what by then had become Dibb Lupton Broomhead. A stroke of fortune, however, might have resulted in a very different history. Of five article clerks to qualify with the firm, the understanding was that only one would be retained. The position was not offered to Knowles and only the first choice’s refusal ensured Knowles’s place with the firm. As a first reserve, however, he has gone on to make quite an impact, with a second term as managing partner successfully under the belt and a third secured for what promises to be an interesting future.

One thing that can be said about Knowles is that he knows how to make the most of a good opportunity. Once accepted by the firm, he has worked hard to become deeply entrenched with its ongoing success. He describes himself as instinctive, saying: “I know what I should be doing, and I make and move on decisions quickly”. He dislikes lawyers who just talk and prides himself on an ability to get things done, however ambitious the target might be. This character revealed itself back in 1996. His promotion to managing partner was unexpected, as former managing partner Paul Rhodes decided to retire for personal reasons in December 1995 after only a year in the job. Knowles had already been making plans, however, and by the time of his appointment, had already worked out that there were several things that the firm needed to do as a priority.

Many a managing partner might have baulked at the idea of leaping in too quickly, but Knowles was to prove a formidable campaigner for change, with his first goal being to make the firm truly national by finding a suitable merger candidate that would provide critical mass in London and support at least two of DLB’s regional offices. It also needed to be full-service and happy to follow a merit-based profit system. Alsop Wilkinson, a firm that Knowles knew little about, quickly proved iself to be an ideal match. “We negotiated all merger terms in three hours one Saturday morning,” Knowles says, “and it proved to be one of the smartest and largest mergers of the time, with the firms’ joint revenue adding up to £100m.” Integration was also pushed along very quickly so that everybody, for instance, had a single telephone, accounting and time-recording system within three months. By the end of 1996, and after only one year as managing partner, Knowles had more than proved his ability to do the job.

Since then, the goals for the firm have followed three-year plans. The first, agreed in May 1999, was to become a top-ten City firm, dominant in the regions and with a credible European capability. With the target met by May 2002, the second vision was put into place: to become a top-five European law firm with a significant presence in Asia. The firm is now half way through the plan, but it’s going well. It has integrated with Caestecker & Partners in Belgium and taken on a large team from Stibbe, giving it a fifth or sixth market position in Belgium. It has acquired the Stephenson Harwood office in Madrid, and integrated with the former Milan office of Coudert Brothers and the Austrian and East European firm, Weiss-Tessbach. It has also doubled the size of its offices in Singapore and Hong Kong, and opened in Bangkok and Shanghai.

It’s an impressive list, but in a time of economic uncertainty for so many firms, I wonder whether Knowles is driving the firm into dangerous waters where the risks prove too high, too soon. Knowles thinks not. “I’m not worried because it’s all planned and budgeted,” he says. “We’ve got a great team of people who are excellent at implementing and delivering results. We’ve also known the people that we do business with for a very long time and if you attract people who share your vision and plans, it’s a lot easier than you think.” This sounds logical but Knowles admits that he didn’t know Caestecer or the Stephenson Harwood office in Madrid. Add to this that his one regret is that the firm took too long before moving forward after the merger with Alsop Wilkinson and you might get the feeling that Knowles has taken that lesson to heart and he’s now in a terrible hurry. Is Knowles getting ahead of himself in his determination to succeed?

Knowles would argue that the answer lies in the maxim, success breeds success. Knowles describes in detail the Alsop merger, what each firm sought from the other and how each business case was fulfilled. Of more recent mergers, the perspective subtly changes. He talks of merging with firms that want to be part of the DLA vision, and of his reluctance to merge with a non-believing firm. DLA has clearly become the stronger force with which other firms can choose to be a part or not. Far from sounding arrogant, it is the natural product of a success that gives a firm the presence and weight to expand rapidly.

Knowles has faced major challenges over recent years, with relentless goals that would make even those of the strongest disposition seek at least temporary respite. But Knowles is nothing short of passionate, about his role, his team, the firm and its future. And did I mention people? He rarely leaves the subject for a moment. They’re fabulous, outstanding, committed, he admires them enormously. “I can have a beer and meal with them all and there’s no-one that I work with that I don’t like,” he says.

Sure enough, his immediate team appear a paradigm of contentment. Project manager, Kim Turner, and PA, Lysia Jaye, talk about the dynamic, team-oriented working environment and struggle to think of any downsides, apart from the fact that at times they struggle to keep up with Knowles and his many ideas for the business. Of course, I wouldn’t expect them to say anything else, but there is something that rings true: the friendly and natural manner with which he talks to his PA about his diary for the following day. Or perhaps it’s the fact that I notice his team have already put together some suggested responses to my profile questions. From across the desk, I can see that one of them says “wanting to wear a wig” of his decision to enter the legal profession.

So how can Knowles combine the ruthless determination necessary if he is to achieve the firm’s goals with the open and warm personality that his team so clearly appreciate? The answer lies in his commitment. I ask him whether he would ever consider leaving DLA to join another firm. His reply is unequivocal: “It would be like leaving myself, like divorcing myself. I think you can only ever have one serious relationship with a law firm.” It’s a little extreme perhaps but not that surprising considering all of his energies, particularly since 1996, have gone into making the firm what it is today.

His commitment to the firm’s people is similarly profound. When he and a colleague raised £13,000 for charity doing the Derwent watershed walk, it inspired Knowles to put the firm’s employees at the heart of a bigger campaign to raise money for the WellChild Trust. With 1,000 DLA volunteers each taking a 15-20 mile leg of the journey, the firm completed the marathon John O’Groats to Lands’ End walk. Knowles completed the final section of the walk, symbolically starting and ending an experience that he says characterises one of his best times with the firm so far. At the very least, it makes a good analogy for what he would see as his day-to-day role, of being behind and at the forefront of the firm’s growth, but at the same time being just one of the team. And again, his determination to succeed shines through. The firm has so far raised between £350,000 to £400,000 and Knowles has no doubt that his team will reach the target of £500,000. Once again Knowles has shown that he’s damned good at getting things done.

As I once again enter DLA’s reception, the stark contrasts hit home: the business-like efficiency and bustle amid the muted grandeur of the typical City architecture. But there on the reception, I can see it again, the £500,000 charity target reminding visitors that behind the façade, there’s an enthusiasm and driving passion that will do just about anything to make a difference.