With the massive growth in cross-border trade, international legal networks have become more important than ever in when it comes to facilitating cross-border deals and assisting companies in breaking into new markets. Leaders of five legal networks – four global and one regional – talk about how they are currently helping member law firms, and their strategies for the future.

CARL ANDURI, PRESIDENT, LEX MUNDI

Tell us a bit about your career so far. What brought you to Lex Mundi and what role do you currently play?

I became president and CEO of Lex Mundi in 2000 after 26 years as a partner with Morrison & Foerster. Morrison is the California member of Lex Mundi, and I was impressed with the incredible client service potential of a global network of top-tier law firms. As CEO my main responsibility is to work with our Board of Directors and member firms to develop the strategies that will realise that potential and then carry out those strategies.

What are some of the changes you have brought about, and initiatives you have launched, during your time here? How do these align with the broader strategy of the network, and your own vision for the same?

Generally speaking, Lex Mundi has evolved to become a unique animal in the legal world – the first truly global client service platform. The platform combines the resources of 21,000 lawyers in 160 top tier firms in 100+ countries with (a) technology and other legal process support and (b) support from the Lex Mundi organisation—a central team of 30 professionals—that enables the firms to work together seamlessly to serve clients. 

Changes and initiatives that have strengthened Lex Mundi as a client service platform are:

• Establishment of a systematic and rigorous membership review process to ensure a strong membership (membership is not permanent).
• Establishment of a central professional development function to support our member firms in their training initiatives and to provide resources for the client service platform.
• Establishment of a Client Advisory Council consisting of general counsel of leading multinational companies.
• Adding to the central staff a Senior Advisor for Technology and Innovation to coordinate technology support for the client service platform.
• Establishment of a business development function that works with member firms and in-house counsel to develop bespoke services for clients to address complex, cross-border challenges. 

What have been the key priorities of your member firms in the past year or so? How have you as a network looked to cater to them?

In the face of an increasingly competitive environment, the key priorities of our member firms have included getting closer to clients and building client loyalty, and improving the cost-effectiveness of their services, through technology and other means.

To help our member firms get closer to clients and build loyalty, we have provided a suite of resources, including consultant help, to enable member firms to work toward the establishment of on-going, sustainable client feedback programs. We are also working with our member firms to establish client teams, both within their firms and across member firms. We are also putting more resources into the development of thought leadership and other resources for member firm clients.

To help our member firms improve the cost-effectiveness of their services, we are helping our member firms evaluate new technologies, providing support in improving their legal project management capability and knowledge management capability. We are also supporting—through workshops, webinars and best practices guides—member firms in developing their skill in pricing their services. We are also working with our member firms to improve their ability to retain women lawyers.

What are some of the important training and development programs the network has for its member firms and lawyers? What others do you plan to have?

Training and development are a major part of the global client service platform and a major benefit of membership for our member firms. Our professional development function goes far beyond providing training and development opportunities at our six major conferences each year.

• Lex Mundi has its own training academy, the Lex Mundi Institute, that offers five intensive, week-long programs each year – Cross-Border Transactions; Cross-Border Dispute Resolution; leadership and management programs for new partners and for managing partners; and a Business Management Program presented in collaboration with the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. More than 1,400 of our member firm lawyers have completed these week-long programs.
• In 2017 we set up a two-day training program for M&A associates in our member firms. We repeated it in 2018 and plan to do it annually. We are now working on the development of a two-day training program for litigation associates.
• Our professional development team has developed a series of Best Practice Guides for use by our member firms that cover areas such as talent management, knowledge management, project management, pricing, and planning for client succession.
• We have just launched a 15-part series of videos on legal writing and editing.
• We support our member firms to build their knowledge management capabilities through annual workshops, webinars, best practice guides and consultant support.
• We support our member firms in establishing and improving their client feedback initiatives through roundtables, a best practice guides, materials on our website and consultant support.
• We have several regional initiatives that provide additional professional development resources to our member firms in South America and in Central and Eastern Europe.

What are some of the strategies you plan to put in place to (a) develop the reach and influence of the network and (b) better assist member firms over the next few years?

We plan to do far more to strengthen the technology that is part of the global client service platform. We also plan to do far more to support our member firms in setting up client teams both within their firms and across Lex Mundi member firms. We will increase the professional development support we provide to member firms. I do not want to go into specifics, but I do look forward to giving you a status report in the future.

ALOYSIUS WEE, CHAIRMAN, ASEAN LEGAL ALLIANCE

Tell us a bit about your career so far. What brought you to ASEAN Legal Alliance and what role do you currently play?

I saw a need for law firms in the ASEAN region to come together ahead of the ASEAN Economic Community to be a one-stop seamless legal service provider. ASEAN as a region has different laws, languages, and business cultures. I wanted the law firms also to lead this integration process too. So, in 2014, I spoke with several managing partners of firms in the region to state the ASEAN Legal Alliance. I am currently the chairman of ALA. We are building our brand and establishing ourselves in the ASEAN legal market.

What are some of the changes you have brought about, and initiatives you have launched, during your time here? How do these align with the broader strategy of the network, and your own vision for the same?

Since 2014, the network has grown. We had many law firms wanting to work with us in ASEAN and other parts of the world. We opened the network for associate members who are law firms outside of ASEAN as we see that clients in ASEAN do invest outside of ASEAN too. We took on members in India, Hong Kong, South Korea and are exploring with firms in China now. In 2017 we were approached by another legal network for collaboration. This was the Warwick Legal Network who comprised of members in Europe and the Americas. We entered into a strategic alliance in Feb 2018 where we would be their Asia partner whilst they concentrated on Europe and the Americas. We maintained our ASEAN and Asia focus but at the same time extended our reach to the other two regions. We do not aspire to be an International legal network. We are focused in our areas which is ASEAN and the extended region of Asia.

What have been the key priorities of your member firms in the past year or so? How have you as a network looked to cater to them?

Our members like other firms in other networks join networks to have more business and visibility. Being a relatively new network, our focus has been on creating value for our members. This has been in the form of work referral, work collaboration where we undertake work jointly across several jurisdictions and in training amongst our four practice groups. We have also stepped up on the marketing of the network by participating in various events as sponsors and organisers as well as providing speakers at various events to showcase the talent in the network and the presence of the network in the marketplace. We have also invested in technology by updating our website so that members can provide their up to date information. We have also created smartphone apps which is a mirror of our website. We also created a LinkedIn page for our network.

What are some of the important training and development programmes the network has for its member firms and lawyers? What others do you plan to have?

Recognising the importance of training and development, we have strong emphasis in continuing and advanced professional development (CAPD) in the form of short courses and training. For instance, we have previously conducted intensive executive training programmes for our members on international commercial arbitration where we not only bring senior lawyers back to the classroom again to renew, reinforce, reflect and reconcile their theoretical versus practical understanding; many at times, it is just necessary for us to go back to basics again and also in the light that many commercial seminars these days in the market lacked theoretical exposition or are sponsored events. In most of our courses, members can openly discuss their unique and actual situations which otherwise one would normally not reveal in public events. On the other hand, our practice group are also actively involved in organising practice group meetings, representing ALA in various regional events, trainings or lectures. We believe that we have a strong education initiative and professional development interest, at present spearheaded by Prof Steve Ngo (Practice Group Chairman for Arbitration & International Dispute Resolution) and I would invite anyone interested to work with us or require our expertise in this respect to contact him. 

What are some of the strategies you plan to put in place to (a) develop the reach and influence of the network and (b) better assist member firms over the next few years?

We are working with several business associations, chambers of commerce and government agencies to promote their countries and sectors for investments. Some of these initiatives are in Indonesia, Myanmar and China. We believe in taking pro-active steps to help create more investment opportunities for our members’ clients. We also plan to assist individual member firms in their marketing efforts by engaging and involving them in events in their local markets and internationally. The ALA has an annual conference that moves from country to country and with a different theme. We see this as a collaborative effort between the hosting firm and the network to increase the awareness of ALA in the local market and to develop and explore current trends in the market. Our conference this year is in HCMC and the theme is on fintech and disruptive technology in the marketplace.

Also as a network, we have started a corporate social responsibility initiative. We see ourselves as ASEAN corporate citizens and our way of giving back is to reach out to the next generation of ASEAN lawyers. We are working with various universities in the ASEAN as well as China and India on internship programmes for their students at our member firms. We also provide training and lecturing at some of these universities for their students and invite their lecturers to do the same for our members or at events that we organise. We have also embarked on a small initiative to resource some of these universities with resources like law books and materials for their law libraries. On the drawing block now is a mooting competition at several of the ASEAN countries with an ASEAN/India/China final round.

TANNA MOORE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MERITAS

Tell us a bit about your career so far. What brought you to Meritas and what role do you currently play? 

For the past 12 years, I have served as president and CEO of Meritas, the premier global alliance of independent, full-service law firms. Prior to joining Meritas, I had more than 30 years of experience that included executive and management positions at technology, consumer, and service organisations. 

I joined Meritas because I recognised the need for flexible, adaptive outside legal resources for management teams, in-house counsel and business owners and I believed in the evolution of the legal network model to fill the need. Specifically, with Meritas, we had potential to expand into geographic regions and strengthen our marketing and business development by sharing our value proposition more broadly to serve more clients.

What are some of the changes you have brought about, and initiatives you have launched, during your time here? How do these align with the broader strategy of the network, and your own vision for the same? 

We have built more technology into our infrastructure and are now leading the industry in using tech for real-time collaboration among firms so they can enhance and expand their offerings and service for clients. 

In our operations, we use technology to facilitate our robust quality assurance program and quality recertification process, by which member firms submit data to ensure they continue to meet Meritas’ high standards. We have integrated Google Search and keyword technology in order for current clients, prospective clients and Meritas members to quickly and easily pinpoint specific resources, searching across geographies, experience and practices. Meritas members to quickly and easily pinpoint specific resources, searching across geographies, experience and practices. We have also launched a platform for connecting members in online communities, complete with discussion forums and a global library to share materials that are fully searchable. The second big initiative we have launched is the completion of our regional staffing infrastructure, providing member firms with a dedicated Meritas professional in their market. The third initiative involved expansion of geographical coverage. We’ve added 27 new regions to Meritas’ global coverage, with Africa as our most recent expansion area.

What have been the key priorities of your member firms in the past year or so? How have you as a network looked to cater to them? 

Addressing issues related to the evolution of technology in the legal industry and throughout the business world is a key priority for our members, particularly cybersecurity readiness. We have responded by stepping forward to be the first legal network to set cybersecurity standards for our members, which outline specific benchmarks firms must reach to secure and maintain membership in Meritas. Now we can ensure all members meet a high standard, which is a marketable attribute for our members, as clients look for this assurance when selecting legal resources.

What are some of the important training and development programs the network has for its member firms and lawyers? What others do you plan to have? 

We conduct most of our training and development through our annual and regional member meetings, organised by practice, industry and geography. Training is important to our members and continues to focus on business development, marketing, and firm management topics, such as succession planning. 

As the legal industry continues to change, training of Meritas lawyers is also of significance to our members, during which we bring forth topics that are pivotal in business—from trade, immigration, the legalisation of cannabis, bitcoin and other issues and opportunities. 

What are some of the strategies you plan to put in place to (a) develop the reach and influence of the network and (b) better assist member firms over the next few years? 

We will continue to advance our major initiatives: leveraging technology to build new and better ways to meet the needs of clients and facilitating increased business for our member firms. We will also seek innovative ways to deliver cross-border services to our clients in a highly specialised approach that is also cost-efficient. Lastly, we will assist member firms by focusing on ways to enhance the customer experience, starting with helping new clients learn how to work with a network. It is important that a client can find, access, and use a global network easily. Once they do, we are confident they will increasingly turn to networks to meet their legal needs effectively and efficiently.

ADAM COOKE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MULTILAW

Tell us a bit about your career so far. What brought you to Multilaw and what role do you currently play?

Before Multilaw, I had a career as an educator before studying law which lead me to roles in a law firm, legal publishing, and a legal tech company. I initially joined Multilaw in 2007 in a BD role and I am currently Executive Director of the network, a position I have held for just over five years. 

What are some of the changes you have brought about, and initiatives you have launched, during your time here? How do these align with the broader strategy of the network, and your own vision for the same?

The network is in many ways unrecognisable from the organisation I joined 11 years ago. During my time it has evolved from a sort of gentlemen’s club (and they were nearly all men) of like-minded lawyers who were all friends with each other who enjoyed travelling and meeting each other in exotic locations and exchanging business with each other from time to time to a much more client-focused, professional organisation that is focused on meeting the needs of clients with international needs. The network has almost doubled in size whilst at the same time raising the bar in terms of membership requirements which has resulted in the network gaining a reputation for quality in the global legal market. Also, crucial to our reputation for quality has been the introduction of a rolling appraisal system which sees each firm assessed every three years by the network to ensure that they are the right fit in their jurisdiction to meet our needs. We have had to say goodbye to some firms as a result of this process and it is my experience that general counsels find this reassuring in that they can see we take quality control seriously.

What have been the key priorities of your member firms in the past year or so? How have you as a network looked to cater to them?

We can all see how fast the world is changing and all our firms seek to remain at the front of the pack when it comes to their respective jurisdictions. This means taking a lead when it comes to innovations such as the use of AI or new ways of pricing legal services or advising on cybersecurity. In all three of these instances, Multilaw has been able to draw upon the very best expertise available internationally and to share it with members. The network is also keen to be of assistance in navigating the changing socio-political landscape of the world.  Brexit is very much at the forefront of our members’ and their clients’ minds in Europe and indeed is of interest to all firms with clients who do business in Europe. Our new Brexit online self-assessment risk tool that is used to assess the impact of Brexit for small to medium size businesses with operations in UK or EU countries has been extremely popular and is a notable example of the network combining technology with the expertise of our members to deliver something really useful to clients globally. 

What are some of the important training and development programmes the network has for its member firms and lawyers? What others do you plan to have?

The Multilaw Academy is our flagship programme for junior lawyers in the network which has been taking place annually for over 15 years. The week-long residential program includes more than 35 hours of formal instruction, discussion and numerous hours of informal interaction which aims to equip the participants to become outstanding international lawyers and to cultivate future leaders within the network. And it works! The current Chair of Multilaw, Piyanuj (Lui) Ratprasatporn from Tilleke and Gibbins was a graduate of the very first Multilaw Academy. This year will see the network introduce a Young Lawyers Group with the intention of ensuring that the network remains relevant to the needs of its more junior lawyers and also to those of junior lawyers who are in-house with clients. 

What are some of the strategies you plan to put in place to (a) develop the reach and influence of the network and (b) better assist member firms over the next few years?

Generating awareness of Multilaw and its benefits both within the network’s 9000 lawyers and externally is a constant challenge. I travel extensively throughout the year making presentations to Multilaw firms and their clients and attending international bar events and corporate counsel conferences. We also have a varied programme of webinars and an array of online content which allow us to reach those we cannot meet in person. A key priority of the network now is to better enable to our clients to compete with the global law firms for work. Crucial to this is the development of our network-wide pricing model which will be available to share with clients and prospective clients in the next 12 months.

MICHAEL SIEBOLD, CHAIR, INTERLAW

Tell us a bit about your career so far. What brought you to Interlaw and what role do you currently play?

am currently chair of Interlaw and a partner at ARNECKE SIBETH DABELSTEIN (ASD) in Germany. To expand our international offering, we joined the Interlaw network in 2005 and haven’t looked back. Having grown organically in their respective markets, each member firm brings to the network both specialist legal expertise and a genuine local footprint. I don’t know how any large law firm can pronounce itself to be truly international without this depth and breadth of expertise. In my experience, the ‘Big Law’ model always has a weak link in the chain when it comes to client service and expertise. Whereas, each firm within Interlaw earns their place, thanks to a rigorous quality management system in an elite network like Interlaw.

What are some of the changes you have brought about, and initiatives you have launched, during your time here? How do these align with the broader strategy of the network, and your own vision for the same?

When I began as chair in 2013, the legal sector was in the midst of a period of radical change. As board of directors, we realised there was an opportunity for networks to step up and offer a solution to the challenges global GCs were facing in their search for truly international legal services. Since then, we have rolled out a comprehensive programme of investment to enhance our digital infrastructure programme and build our worldwide brand profile. 

This has culminated in our current strategic plan – Interlaw 2.0 – which is designed to ensure Interlaw continues to evolve in step with the needs of legal counsel at multinational corporations around the world and corporates looking to conduct business in international markets. There is a real excitement across the network that we are putting the foundations in place to be able to respond to the needs of tomorrow’s global client, as well as today’s. 

What have been the key priorities of your member firms in the past year or so? How have you as a network looked to cater to them?

We are focused on equipping our member firms with the tools and resources to be able to learn from and work with their peers around the world. We regularly engage with our membership to find out what they need from us and how we can help to support their growth. 

Deploying technology in a useful and meaningful way is a challenge that law firms across the world are grappling with every day. At Interlaw, we see technology as an enabler to enhancing the experience of both our member firms and their clients. As part of the Interlaw 2.0 delivery plan, we are introducing digital solutions to facilitate even smoother collaboration between member firms. The long-term aim is to create a virtual global legal service that clients can tap into at any time from any location. 

What are some of the important training and development programmes the network has for its member firms and lawyers? What others do you plan to have?

We hold a diverse and lively events programme that is well attended by member firms at various stages of joining the network—from those who are new and curious to find out more right through to long-established member firms for whom the events have become a valuable fixture in their diary to enhance both their knowledge and business development prospects. 

In the year ahead, our global meetings will be focused on harnessing our investment in digital infrastructure to support our members in pitching and delivering excellent work across multiple borders. 

What are some of the strategies you plan to put in place to (a) develop the reach and influence of the network and (b) better assist member firms over the next few years?

Interlaw 2.0 provides both a clear vision of what we want to achieve and the roadmap to turn it into a reality. With on-going investment in digital infrastructure, which, in turn, will facilitate more effective collaboration, we are building a legal services platform that can flex and change according to the needs of our member firms and their clients. 

In some quarters of the legal sector, there appears to be a degree of fear around how to utilise technological solutions. But, we have a clear vision of what we’re trying to achieve and improvements in technology only help to support our collaborative model. 

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