28 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – AUGUST 2024 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM ROUNDTABLE field – and the search for suitable hires becomes more challenging. Nichol Yeo, director, Nine Yards Chambers: The complexity and value of disputes has steadily increased. The clients have also become savvier, seeking out more value when engaging counsel. Boutique firms, particularly the smaller outfits, now have a chance to be involved in complex, cross-border disputes. The challenge is then for the boutique firms to calibrate the correct balance between having sufficient capacity whilst remaining competitive. Ian Teo, managing director, Helmsman: In terms of challenges, the most evident is human resources. In line with other industries, salaries have risen substantially post-COVID. At Helmsman, to ensure the quality of our lawyers, we peg our compensations at the big firms’ levels. This is despite the size of our firm. We do not compromise on the quality of our lawyers. We make up for this aspect of the costs through enhanced productivity and efficiency of our lawyers and highly focused marketing efforts. In short, the increased human resource costs are offset by increased revenue and cost savings from efficiency and productivity. ALB: Can you share the unique value proposition that sets your boutique law firm apart from larger law firms in Singapore? Lim: Instead of the client dealing with 3 to 5 lawyers at any one time, we have one designated senior lawyer as the single point of contact. This gives the client a certain level of assurance and comfort. For UHNW and HNW clients, privacy is paramount. Our experience has shown that for personal matters, these clients would prefer to use a boutique firm like ours. After a certain level of trust is built, it is customary for these clients to refer their business and commercial matters to us. We also have the ability to pick and choose clients that are a good fit, allowing us to build stronger relationships and do higher-quality work. This allows us to offer more personalised attention within our areas of expertise. Huang: In recent times, I have noticed a trend when it comes to legal fees. There is significant downward pressure on fees as products appear homogenised (to clients) and costs become the primary concern. I accept and acknowledge that costs are a part of the industry, however, the focus for the firm is the provision of value – in essence, the value your legal services provide must exceed the cost of the legal services. Yeo: Due to our size, we can remain very cost-efficient and competitive whilst maintaining quality. Our lawyers have regularly litigated at all levels of the Singapore court system and are familiar with the nuances of each forum. We could be conducting an arbitration one day and conducting a trial in the State Courts the next. Hence the concept of being “valuedriven” is critical. The emphasis is to understand the client’s concerns and what they have come to you for – and to turn your engagement into a financial positive decision for them. A value-driven approach is in essence a refinement of the traditional “client-centric” approach. Teo: Today, there is a substantial degree of market fragmentation. The largest local firms and international firms in Singapore tend to chase after particular segments in the terms of clients. There is a large sector of clients which boutique law firms are particularly well-placed to serve - in terms of personalisation, reaction time, flexibility and pricing. On the supply side, there is also fragmentation - big firm lawyers with big firm expertise setting up boutique law firms offering specialist services hitherto only offered by large firms. With this increasing and sustained fragmentation on the supply side, consumers today are witnessing boutique law practices offering legal services which are just as good as a large firm - except perhaps for the lack of an established brand name or the numerical size. Also, due to post-COVID inflation, cost pressures and the strength of the Singapore Dollars, our legal services exports are becoming costlier for overseas clients - even for clients in very developed markets. All these factors have made boutique law firms in Singapore an excellent value proposition. ALB: Can you share an example of how your firm has provided tailored and personalised legal services to clients that larger firms might not have been able to offer? Lim: We act for a client involved in a dispute regarding the sale of a superyacht where technical issues on performance and built are raised. We have fee earners with the expertise in this area. This matter also required us to work with law firms in Padua, Italy and South Sumatra, Indonesia. Given we do not operate via any overseas offices and have no obligation to work with any specific overseas “On the supply side, there is also fragmentation - big firm lawyers with big firm expertise setting up boutique law firms offering specialist services hitherto only offered by large firms. With this increasing and sustained fragmentation on the supply side, consumers today are witnessing boutique law practices offering legal services which are just as good as a large firm - except perhaps for the lack of an established brand name or the numerical size.” — Ian Teo, Helmsman
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