Managing Partner archive

Volume 9 Issue 8

As another packed schedule begins for me as editor of Managing Partner, there can be little doubt that 2007 will be an equally exciting year for the legal profession. The passage of the Legal Services Bill through parliament looks set to be one of the main talking-points as I continue to meet readers and hear their concerns for the future.

Indeed, as our first issue of the new year goes to press, the Bill has just passed to the committee stage (the detailed discussion) in the House of Lords following first and second readings at the end of last year. Among the factors continuing to divide interested parties are the independence of proposed regulator the Legal Services Board (LSB) from government; the effect on the competitiveness of the profession abroad; and potential conflict of interest arising from alternative business structures and external investment.

All these concerns were expressed in December at a special debate co-hosted by law firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and the City of London Law Society at London’s Barber-Surgeon’s Hall. With a panel that included the Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer, and president of the Law Society Fiona Woolf, the issues were thrashed out before the assembled lawyers and Lord Falconer was urged to choose “evolution over revolution”.

Of course, some firms will rightly question whether they are really able to attract external investment in any case – the typical scale and timeframe of the required return on investment will not be easy for most law firms to meet. But then there are other ways to remain competitive in the leaner legal market we expect to see. Investment in cutting-edge technology can lead to increased efficiency, throughput and profits, while smaller firms could also consider new software to stay competitive – streamlining operations through greater commoditisation. Certainly, having the right technology in place can start a cycle of success.

The year’s really big news in business technology is the recent launch of the new Microsoft operating system, Windows Vista. Over five years in development, Microsoft finally commenced roll-out of the software to corporate customers in November 2006. Consumers in the UK enjoy access from 30 January 2007, while Bill Gates recently opened the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show by explaining how such products could make people more “connected”, manipulating content across multiple platforms. It should be an advantage for law firms faced with more demands for flexible and remote working opportunities – particularly when The Equal Opportunities Commission recently called for flexible working rights to be extended to all after it found women accounted for just ten per cent of all FTSE 100 firm directors. Add to this the improved security factor in the current socio-political climate and firms may soon be upgrading their existing systems.

As with editors, I suspect technology is something many lawyers take for granted – that just makes life easier (in an ideal world). For managing partners, however, technology is a key area of strategy. They need to work closely with the firm’s IT department in the selection of solution providers and prioritisation of projects.

And as the process that began with Sir David Clementi’s appointment back in 2003 is now entering the closing chapter, it is time to sit up and start thinking seriously about the future.

I would like to wish all our readers a very happy new year and look forward to meeting many more of you to discuss these issues further over the coming months.

Richard Brent

Editor

Features

Country report – La Samanna This article is for subscribers only
A gem in the Orient-Express group portfolio, La Samanna is a hidden jewel in the French West Indies. By Anna Head

Country report: Review - Sandals This article is for subscribers only
Sandals is situated in 19 acres of tropical landscape on Dickenson Bay in Antigua, a mere 15 minutes from the airport. By Anna Head

Country report: Review – Ku This article is for subscribers only
The word Ku means ‘sacred place’ in the Arawak Indian language. Conjure up a hotel in a secluded corner of Anguilla, on a two-mile stretch of powdered, white Caribbean sand. By Anna Head

Country report: Mutual funds – why use the BVI? This article is for subscribers only
By Ruth Chadwick, director of Investment Business, Financial Services Commission

Country report: Combating international fraud This article is for subscribers only
The importance of the Norwich Pharmacal/Bankers Trust jurisdiction in the BVI. By Martin S. Kenney, principal, Martin Kenney & Co

Country report: Anguilla – Review 2007 This article is for subscribers only
Anguilla’s position in the global offshore financial-services industry has never looked more promising. By John O’Dyrud, First Anguilla Trust Company Limited

Country report: Welcome to Anguilla This article is for subscribers only
By Sergio A. Pagliery, Jr., Esq., attorney at law, Sergio A. Pagliery, P.A., and Juergen Beck, Safe Harbor Financial Group LLC

Country report: BVI hits the big time This article is for subscribers only
The archipelago of the British Virgin Islands (the BVI) already scores highly in a setting which is second to none. By Martin Mann QC

Country report: The Anguilla Netting Act 2006 This article is for subscribers only
The Anguilla Netting Act was enacted on October 19 2006 as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its financial services legislation and ensure the competitiveness of its financial institutions in the global market. By Arlene N L Ross, associate, Webster Dyrud Mitchell

Country report: Furthering funds in the BVI This article is for subscribers only
Fortis began 2006 as the world’s third largest administrator of hedge funds and funds of hedge funds, with US$215bn of assets under administration and hedge fund administration operations sites in seven locations worldwide. By Jacques Bofferding, Regional Managing Director, Prime Fund Solutions

Country report: Anguilla’s financial services and legislation This article is for subscribers only
Anguilla celebrated the ten-year anniversary of its international financial centre in 2004. It did so by putting in place a new financial services regulatory body and introducing new product legislation. By John Lawrence, director of the Anguilla financial services commission

Country report: BVI - the tourism product beneath the business veneer This article is for subscribers only
As a thriving financial centre, Road Town’s plethora of banks, lawyers, accountants and other smart offices of associated commercial enterprises might, at first sight, appear to dwarf its tourist attractions. By Christine Oliver, general manager, British Virgin Islands Tourist Board

Country report: Public and private sector partnership in the BVI This article is for subscribers only
Most industry analysts in the offshore arena will concede that the rise to prominence of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has been impressive. By Humphry Leue, chief operations officer, British Virgin Islands International Finance Centre

Country report: Segregated portfolio companies in the British Virgin Islands This article is for subscribers only
One of the most significant features of the recently-enacted BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 (as amended) (the ‘BVIBC Act’) is that it is now possible to register companies limited by shares as segregated portfolio companies in the British Virgin Islands. By Heidi de Vries and Richard May, Walkers Global

Country report: Anguilla – corporate domicile: a commentary This article is for subscribers only
Anguilla seeks to be a premier domicile for the incorporation of companies. A host of corporate transactions are completed on a daily basis in financial jurisdictions all over the world – onshore and offshore. But the bedrock of all offshore financial services remains the corporate. By Joe Brice, managing director, Private International Trust Corporation (PITCO)

Country report: BCA benefits This article is for subscribers only
The new Business Companies Act (‘BCA’) replaced the International Business Companies Act (‘IBCA’), which has served the BVI so well for many years. By William Tacon, partner, Kroll BVI Ltd

Country report: Financing structures in the British Virgin Islands This article is for subscribers only
Offshore jurisdictions are a bit like pop boy bands in a way – they all tend to look very much the same to the uninitiated. By Colin Riegels, partner, Harneys

Country report: Fraud and the appointment of liquidators in the BVI This article is for subscribers only
The Insolvency Act 2003 (the Act) and the Insolvency Rules 2005 (the Rules) combined are the British Virgin Islands’ (BVI’s) all-encompassing insolvency law to deal with both companies and individuals. By James Hilsdon, barrister

Masterclass: Devising a flexible remote working strategy This article is for subscribers only
Flexible working is likely to appeal to lawyers looking for a better work-life balance in what can often be a highly stressful career. With transport costs continuing to rise and delays impacting on profits, businesses can benefit too, but firms first need to give careful consideration to their mobile technology choices.

Q&A: Down to business This article is for subscribers only
Richard Brent asks Axxia managing director Stuart Holden how technology helps firms behave more like businesses.

Opinion: Efficiency – your starter for 10 This article is for subscribers only
The legal service reforms will pave the way for new entrants to the market and competition the likes of which law firms have not yet seen.

Virtualisation: reality This article is for subscribers only
All law firms need to maximise their efficiency to remain competitive. Cost-effective IT systems are crucial and server capacity is one area where considerable savings can be realised. Virtualisation software can allocate resources to multiple applications from one server.

Making IT work This article is for subscribers only
Considered investment in IT infrastructure can make a significant difference to a law firm’s bottom line, boosting efficiency and increasing client satisfaction. It should be a core part of a managing partner’s wider strategy.

Case study: Flying without wires This article is for subscribers only
Browne Jacobson outsourced a wireless hotspot for its Birmingham office, enhancing client service and safeguarding client confidentiality at the same time.

Thought leader This article is for subscribers only
While globalisation and technology have enabled new business opportunities for legal practices, they have at the same time made the market more competitive and pressured.

Case study: Personal training tools This article is for subscribers only
The problem with training and development is that it can too often appear as a disconnected, compliance-driven function of the firm. Herbert Smith is one firm to explore how the training agenda can be made less rigid and more appealing.

Profile: Eversheds This article is for subscribers only
The new strategy for global law firm Eversheds focuses on offering service excellence and ‘making it happen’. UK managing partner Bryan Hughes tells Richard Brent how its award-winning approach to client-relationship management (CRM) helps achieve this goal.