A powerful network of networks: making the most of an international landscape

A lawyer’s network is one of his or her most important assets, providing a powerful source of information, contacts and new business. For a law firm operating in today’s international landscape, it is particularly important that partners know with whom other partners work or have contacts. At NautaDutilh, one of continental Europe’s largest law firms, they have created a relationship database that aims at leveraging the collective power of individual networks. In this article, Jaap Bosman, marketing director at NautaDutilh, looks at this application and the benefits it brings his firm.

NautaDutilh is a large firm, with more than 500 attorneys, civil law notaries and tax advisers, working from Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Brussels, with supporting offices in, London, New York and Luxemburg. The core businesses are corporate, banking, finance and tax law, but we have chosen to maintain a broad practice, with 11 departments and a variety of cross-departmental specialist groups. The complexity resulting from the size, the individual legal focus and geographic location

means that contacts both with clients – often with individuals in a variety of departments and areas in the same company – and with other (independent) law firms has, until now, been so great that any attempt at a relationship database resulted in something that had only limited use and was frequently out-dated before it was completed.

Company-wide

At NautaDutilh, we decided to create a company-wide relationship database that could be accessed through our intranet. Our aim was to create a searchable database in which contacts per company, department, and other law firms could be made available as easily as possible. For example, if a partner is approached by a (potential) client, then he would be able to find out whether other partners had contacts within the same company, so that he could gain valuable information about the company from those partners.

In addition, he or she could find out the areas of practice that were already being offered to that client and these could provide important input for track records in relevant areas.

NautaDutilh is an independent law firm but an increasing focus of our business is international (approximately half of the firm’s revenue is generated by international business). It is therefore beneficial to maintain a database of contacts with other law firms and the experiences our partners have had with them. This should also be included in the final relationship database.

Central processing

We held individual meetings with all our fee-earners and created for each of them a personal contact list. It included not only business contacts with clients and other law firms, but also other valuable contacts such as members of university fraternities and associations and important personal contacts. These were then processed centrally into the database.

This central processing is vital to the success of the database. Company names, for example, can give rise to confusion. To take one example: Philips is known as NV Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken, Royal Philips Electronics, Koninklijke Philips Electronics, and so on. Standardisation in this respect was essential if the database was to prove searchable. Also it was important to know whether fee-earners had relationships in specific divisions, holdings, operational units, and so on. In addition, changes of address and results of restructuring – such as mergers or bankruptcies – needed to be tracked, so that the information per company was as up-to-date as possible.

Similar standardisation had to be applied to the names of contact persons. For example, is John Smith the same person as J. Smith, John L. Smith, or J. L. Smith? By processing all the information centrally, such ambiguities could be avoided; when similarities are detected, the information is checked with the fee-earner before it is entered.

Regular updates

At least once a year, a personal meeting is arranged with each of the fee-earners and the list of contacts is discussed and, where necessary, adapted. These personal contacts with the fee-earners is, we believe, one of the strengths of our system: it alleviates them of unnecessary paperwork and also focuses their minds on the effectiveness of the system.

At the same time, we have also included the possibility of fee-earners inputting relevant information via our intranet. Although it is not possible to directly enter or change contact details – for the reasons mentioned earlier – we do encourage fee-earners to provide information about important cases, landmark decisions and so on. In addition, personal input is also encouraged when contacts are made with external law firms.

Contacts with foreign law firms

Such contacts with foreign law firms are a vital aspect of our database. Since we are an independent firm, it is essential that we can maintain a current list of top quality foreign law firms in the broad area of law that we practice. We have now implemented a contact feedback system, in which fee-earners are required

to provide a visit report – using a custom-made template on our firm’s intranet – of any meeting they may have with contacts in other law firms. It also includes an assessment tool, so that each contact can be fully evaluated and important aspects, such as area of expertise and experience, can be included. At any later date, any person within NautaDutilh, who needs to make use of a foreign law firm, can access the information and find a contact with which NautaDutilh fee earners have already had good experiences. We have found that this evaluation has proved extremely important in helping us maintain the high standards that we apply to our dealings with our clients. Any ad hoc working relationship can be based on previous assessments, and can thus help our associates find the most suitable law firm for a specific case, area, or client.

Incidentally, we have found the database – or at least the awareness of its existence – also plays a role in helping us work efficiently and in an organised manner. All visits to third-party law firms are reported in advance to our visit co-ordinator, who then ensures that any associates who may be visiting the same law firm on the same date are aware of the other visits.

Track record

One of the things that has always proved difficult to produce with any accuracy and efficiency is our firm’s track record. In the past, individual track records could be easily generated, but this demonstrated little of the collective expertise available in a firm of our size.

Now, our fee-earners are encouraged to enter major transactions or landmark court decisions directly via the intranet into the database, so that when preparing information for a pitch or a new client, we can generate a track record that is truly company-wide. The system can show a track record either per client, per

fee-earner, per area of legal expertise, or per line of business. By encouraging fee-earners to enter such information personally, we ensure that the data is not only recorded but also as current as we can possibly make it.

Constant attention

Work on a relationship database is never finished. It requires constant and dedicated attention and this can only be stimulated if the input is used on a regular basis by the people for whom the system was designed: the fee-earners. We have paid particular attention to the design of the interface, making it intuitive and, most importantly, ensuring that the user can easily access the information he or she requires at that specific moment. Are they looking for a lawyer based in, say, Denmark who is specialised in M&A and has handled similar cases in the past? This information can be generated very easily. Or has a client asked them to recommend a specialist on patents in the biotech industry: the database will help them find not only the most appropriate partner, but also one who has experience either with the company itself (albeit, perhaps, for another division or unit) or who has successfully handled similar cases in the past for companies in the same area. It can also generate a track record for that specific lawyer, or for the firm, in biotech related matters, thus providing the client with detailed information on which he can base a decision.

Define what you want

From our experience you always have to define what you want. There is no off-the-shelf solution for this. NautaDutilh started with designing the data model in which all the interdependencies between the various areas are defined. This phase is essential because it will prevent you from storing the same data more than once in different places, for example, because you want to use it in a different context. Once the data model is completed a great deal of attention has to be given to creating easy-to-use, user-friendly designs. If the use of the system is not completely logical and simple, fee-earners will neither use it nor feed it.

We are convinced that some of the data, like names and addresses, should only be processed centrally. There simply is no other way to ensure consistent data entry. It is also essential that this data is actively updated on regular intervals. At the same time, all other data should be entered directly by the fee-earner, using standardised, easy to use templates. This approach at NautaDutilh resulted in a powerful tool that is adding value to our firm’s business. And that, ultimately, must be the primary aim.

Jaap Bosman is the marketing director at NautaDutilh. He will give a presentation on this topic at the upcoming conference ‘Strategic Marketing for the Legal Profession’ on 19-21 November, 2002 at the Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel, London.