As firms in Asia adopt a more global mindset and are increasingly expected to have cross-jurisdictional capabilities and expertise, lawyers are using legal networks as a means of spreading their resources further and improving their global connectivity and understanding of new markets. But networks are also guiding them on other key aspects: marketing, business development and helping them build their brands.

The legal industry in Asia is rapidly changing. Just staying up with the latest technological advances, competitive offerings and talent moves can be a dizzying affair for business lawyers immersed in the day-to-day running of their practices. Although plenty of work is a good indicator of success, when it comes to cementing a long-term strategy and establishing a practice with a strong enough identity to weather the changing market demands, lawyers must approach this with careful planning.

While firms wishing to branch into new areas of work or investing in efforts to expand their geographical coverage have long turned to legal networks as the key to unlock new opportunities, many are also discovering that these networks provide them with the essential tools to achieve their own business development goals.

Dan Himpson, head of business development and strategy, Asia-Pacific, at U.S.-headquartered legal network Lex Mundi, says generally law firms have been slow to react to changing client demands and “expectations about manageability of work and fees, particularly on complex, cross-border matters.” While most firms do have some kind of dedicated business development function in place, Himpson warns, “many have yet to make it a core part of how they operate”.

“It is surprising to see how many firms are still missing some of the basics to really understand the world of the client – key engagement programs, matter review processes, client listening – things that other professional services and consulting firms have been using for a long time,” Himpson says, adding that because of this, “many firms fail to approach business development from the client’s perspective.”

If that is the bad news, the good news is an outside perspective can make all the difference when it comes to diagnosing issues. Adam Cooke, executive director at Multilaw, a global network of independent firms, explains that the common oversights legal practices make when it comes to business development and promotion typically relate to positioning, people and global capability.

He offers an example of one of the firms under the Multilaw brand recently lamenting it was not able to court “Fortune 500-type work.” Although the firm, Cooke says, “punches above its weight for its size, and can-do work of the highest quality for corporate clients ranging from the mid-market to the very top of the corporate ladder,” its website did not offer any hints about these capabilities or desires to act for major clients.

“The message from the story is, if you punch above your weight, demonstrate it, say it and say it loudly. Show it on your website, in your brochures, indeed in all your collateral. And make sure all the partners, associates and staff of the firm are on message too,” Cooke says. Once this issue was identified, his team was able to work on positioning with the firm in question which resulted in an uplift in the type of high-end work they were seeking, he adds.

This may seem simple, but it is a common issue according to Cooke, who notes that while positioning is key, people and global capability are also essential. “It is a well-worn saying that the best assets of a firm are its people, but law firms sometimes miss out on making optimum use of the talent and experiences of their lawyers,” he says.

LAUNCHING A BRAND

Market positioning along with a good understanding of what clients are looking for are clearly important considerations for independent firms but transforming a practice into a powerful brand can be a real challenge.

For Cooke of Multilaw, which has firms based in Italy and the Cayman Islands specialising in branding, a strong firm identity cannot be overlooked. “I can’t emphasise the importance of branding enough,” he says. 

With competition in the legal sector intense, and multiple firms offering similar services at equivalent price points, having a strong brand can give a law firm a head-and-shoulders advantage over the competition.

“When branding is done right, clients are drawn to your brand because they relate to it and the values it imparts which coincide with their own and a great brand attracts good talent too in terms of lawyers wanting to work for a brand that converges with their own personal brands,” says Cooke.

Giles Brake, chief operating officer at UK-headquartered network Alliott Group tells Asian Legal Business that branding helps send a strong message about the firm’s values. “A brand is a promise and if carefully managed, can become an asset for law firms operating in a highly competitive market,” Brake says. “Yes, clients often buy the expertise of the individual lawyer, but if a law firm can develop a strong brand with each lawyer living and breathing the brand’s values, then this will lead to more successful client transition, improved client and staff retention and maximised cross-selling opportunities.” 

For firms able to establish a strong brand, it does offer them a guaranteed edge, and with this comes several unexpected benefits firms can take advantage of – in addition to encouraging staff retention, Brake says an emphasis on branding helps firms to attract talent and leave an impression that travels.

“Talented lawyers will remember and be drawn to a firm with a stronger brand and positive, clear values. In an increasingly global world in which younger lawyers want to be internationally mobile, a firm that is a member of an international law firm network has a useful differentiator through its ability to offer lawyers exposure to cross border client experience,” he says.

Glenn M. Cunningham, chair at legal network Interlaw, says that clients want to know that they have made the right purchasing decision and that they are not going to be second-guessed by their board of directors, while the board wants to be reassured they are receiving the best quality service possible - and that is where brand equity can count for a lot. “Our partner firms at Interlaw work hard to promote their own brand in their local markets, at the same time as highlighting their participation in the Interlaw brand to show how they can offer clients the best of all worlds.

FOCUSING ON CLIENT NEEDS

Successful branding enables firms to differentiate their services from competitors, while also serving as a clear way of telling clients’ that you can provide legal services that are a cut above, says Himpson of Lex Mundi. But, he notes that the legal industry and its offerings are changing, and going hand-in-hand with this is changing client expectations. “Look at any poll results about how clients choose their law firms and you’ll find the quality of lawyers is often measured in terms of directory rankings, and reputation of the firm sits top of the list. One might think that branding should not matter for sophisticated legal professionals whose stock and trade is high-quality expertise. Yet, look at the purchasing behaviour of clients and indeed there is a tendency to expect that a common nameplate should translate into joined-up service across jurisdictions and practices. So, branding does impact market behaviour,” Himpson says.

To be successful today, he warns that law firms must also be prepared for the way the market is shifting. “The corporate legal services industry is going through a period of massive change with new players and models coming onto the scene. If firms are to deliver a premium service in such a hypercompetitive market it is vital that they are supported by a strong, clear brand proposition that is backed up not only by legal expertise but the internal processes and capabilities of a service delivery platform leveraging technology and tools for management of work,” Himpson adds.

It is also essential to keep client needs, and habits, at the heart of strategic planning. Brake says that while branding offers firms a strong profile, the biggest challenge independent law firms in Asia face in their business development and marketing activities is how to reach their ideal clients. This grows even more challenging given the sheer variety of legal services that clients are now able to choose from.

“You may have great legal services but if the message does not chime with target clients and the right channels are not being used to reach these prospects in sufficient volume, your services will remain hidden in plain sight,” Brake warns. “Having a different message and story to tell is important as the mid-tier legal marketplace is very crowded. Cutting through the noise requires marketing creativity,” he says, adding that law firm network can help guide its members through this process.

THE NETWORK ADVANTAGE

Given the importance of branding and the emphasis networks place on creating a strong voice for your firm, it might seem like the choice for independent firms is between an external marketing firm or joining a legal network, but in reality, there are many different approaches they can take.

Brake says the decision to join a law firm network should not be viewed as a replacement for reaching out to marketing specialists, as the two are complementary. He explains that a law firm network “provides the reach, resources, referrals and relationships a law firm needs to build its international practice- the law firm’s marketing team can use creativity and leverage the latest marketing technique to embed the value provided by the network into a plan and a message that differentiates the firm in the local or national marketplace”.

And what of firms considering building up their marketing and business development facilities in-house? Brake says a legal network offers different advantages as a “powerful resource in the hands of marketing experts who have a defined plan for utilising it as a way to augment the firm’s reputation and visibility to clients with needs outside of their home market.”

Himpson of Lex Mundi agrees that the two are not mutually exclusive, advising firms that a legal network should serve to complement and strengthen a firm’s in-house marketing and business development functions. “We are not an alternative, but rather a resource from which they can draw. At the same time, by leveraging the shared investment of member firms, we can offer them a scale and resources collectively that would be hard for them to deploy individually,” he says.

According to Cunningham of Interlaw, what he has been hearing consistently is that being part of a network allows partner firms to grow with their clients as the clients expand into new markets.

“That creates client loyalty and deepens relationships. We also hear that being part of a network allows our firms to go after work that they would have been reluctant or would not have been able to go after if they did not have international capabilities,“ he notes.

REACHING OUT

Traditionally many lawyers have in part chosen to become a part of member firm networks to help them reach more clients and be exposed to more work. Multilaw, for example, is “unashamedly a referral network”, says Cooke. “All our firms appreciate the client referrals that come into them from other firms around the network.”

But increasingly, firm networks are pitching varied approaches. Having a network membership can also help a firm bulk up its capabilities, while being supported by a wider network says Cooke, citing an example: “One of our African firms recently pitched for an important oil and gas project work and reached out to the network to help it do so. Using the combined expertise and experience that Multilaw firms were able to offer in addition to their own meant they could pitch for work at a level that would simply not have been possible had they been on their own.”

Because of experiences such as this, Cooke says that “increasingly member firms are telling me that Multilaw is opening doors to them that were previously closed.”

Himpson explains that many of the Lex Mundi member firms use the professional development programmes provided by the network as an opportunity to network with other lawyers around the world, which also serves to forge “long-lasting relationships that facilitate collaboration on behalf of clients.”

“We are increasingly seeing firms use the network in a more proactive manner – for example helping a client to anticipate issues in foreign jurisdictions or to deal with overseas challenges, thereby adding value. At the other end of the scale, some of the firms are increasingly leveraging our BD professionals to understand the needs of their clients better, even pitching with other firms when clients request,” Himpson says.

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