Big is Different - Does it Matter?
While I was preparing this newswire I was struck by the impressive nature of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, a "Multinational Partnership of Foreign Lawyers and Solicitors regulated by The Law Society." This group, featured later in the wire, has a London office which appears to be lead by a team of lawyers from America. It practises world-wide and has an office in China where the law Society president has just spent 10 days on tour. The firm has a very talented load of lawyers, and bears as much relationship to my firm as a pride of lions does to my three household moggies.
Then there appeared the full page advert in the Times for Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG), another multi national firm. They show a list of over 250 firms and their top people. The implication is that BLG has acted for these firms in litigation, or against them. The slogan "If you'd like your name kept out of the legal papers, take a note of ours" does not actually make this clear. Are these the people that BLG have taken on cases against and, if so, is it fair to print their names in the paper? Are these their successful clients, and, if so, is it right to print their names in the paper, even if, as must have been the case, they all gave informed consent?
I would never even have thought of doing that, even if I could have afforded to do so.
These firms move in a different world to mine and their interests are in general very different to mine.
The Law Society has just finished an enormous consultation exercise which asked all solicitors to fill in a questionnaire about the future of the profession. It was very successful, with more respondents than ever before and they have promised to follow the opinions expressed (although I will believe it when I see it.) But surely, the views expressed by the enormous firms mentioned above (which are nothing like the biggest out there) will not be the same as mine simply because the firms are so different?
Isn't it time that we recognised that big firms and little firms are so different that they need separate representation? On the other hand, assuming that the big firms would never want to conflict with the little firms, does their association with the pride of lions they represent give strength to the high street lawyer? What do you think, and did you tell the Law Society?
Then there appeared the full page advert in the Times for Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG), another multi national firm. They show a list of over 250 firms and their top people. The implication is that BLG has acted for these firms in litigation, or against them. The slogan "If you'd like your name kept out of the legal papers, take a note of ours" does not actually make this clear. Are these the people that BLG have taken on cases against and, if so, is it fair to print their names in the paper? Are these their successful clients, and, if so, is it right to print their names in the paper, even if, as must have been the case, they all gave informed consent?
I would never even have thought of doing that, even if I could have afforded to do so.
These firms move in a different world to mine and their interests are in general very different to mine.
The Law Society has just finished an enormous consultation exercise which asked all solicitors to fill in a questionnaire about the future of the profession. It was very successful, with more respondents than ever before and they have promised to follow the opinions expressed (although I will believe it when I see it.) But surely, the views expressed by the enormous firms mentioned above (which are nothing like the biggest out there) will not be the same as mine simply because the firms are so different?
Isn't it time that we recognised that big firms and little firms are so different that they need separate representation? On the other hand, assuming that the big firms would never want to conflict with the little firms, does their association with the pride of lions they represent give strength to the high street lawyer? What do you think, and did you tell the Law Society?
posted by Steve Butler, UKlawyers | 5:55 pm
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