1 / 21

Best in France Case Study Project

Best in France Case Study Project. HERBERT SMITH Emmanuelle BRISSAUD Julie LUNEAU Fidji SIMO. Methodology. Research of information about the French legal market Research of information about Herbert Smith Interview of an independant legal consultant about the French legal market

zubin
Download Presentation

Best in France Case Study Project

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Best in France Case Study Project HERBERT SMITH Emmanuelle BRISSAUD Julie LUNEAU Fidji SIMO

  2. Methodology • Research of information about the French legal market • Research of information about Herbert Smith • Interview of an independant legal consultant about the French legal market • Patrick BIGNON, Managing Partner of Law Management Consulting, consulting boutique for law firms • Interviews of Herbert Smith managers in France: • Neil Brimson, partner, ex Managing Partner • Jean-Didier Billard, CEO • à rajouter

  3. Presentation of the Paris office of Herbert Smith • Core business • A law firm specialized in big businesses since 1962. • 4 main fields of activities: Banking and Finance, Litigation and Arbitration, Projects, Competition/Antitrust,  a full service law firm • Specialization in Litigation and Arbitration and in Finance. • The French office has developped a big business in French speaking African countries.

  4. Presentation of the Paris office of Herbert Smith • Clients • International firms that have activities in France • French firms that have activities abroad • African governments • Examples: Air Liquide, Coca Cola, Goldman Sachs, KPMG, Toyota, Procter&Gamble, Merrill Lynch

  5. Presentation of the Paris office of Herbert Smith • Key figures

  6. Presentation of Herbert Smith: Herbert Smith around the world • Locations • Head office in London • Worldwide office for Herbert Smith and its best friends in Brussels • 9 offices in Europe, China, Japan and Russia • Best friends network • Formal alliance in the main European market with Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe • Sharing of the market between the three law firms • Transfer of competencies and strong presence • Visibility of Herbert Smith not alterered

  7. The three key issues of the setting up of Herbert Smith in France • The market • The ressources • The values

  8. The market • Historical reasons: • The International Court of Arbitration is based in Paris and Herbert Smith had a strong practice of Arbitration • The crucial presence to foster the development of this practice • A setting up strongly linked with the personality of the Paris office founder: Doctor Mann, an arbitration expert

  9. The market • Proximity with clients • Clients having branches in France and occasionnaly confronted to French law rules • French clients having problems in their head office -confronted to French law- or with their international branches – confronted to English law in that case- • An activity that requires a human relations with the client: a need for interactivity

  10. The market • Cross borders deals • As the core business is transaction this involves different places and different law rules. • Increasingly companies are global and have many activities all around the world • For the alliance to be strong an due to the absence of the other members of the alliance, need for Herbert Smith expansion in Paris

  11. The market • Competitors • All majors competitors have an office in Paris • The market is increasingly competitive : Maintaining market shares is crucial

  12. Ressources • Training • Difficulties of a good recrutment policy • Law firms need lawyers with analysis and expression skills and specialised lawyers • Law faculty is not choosen by the best profiles and don’t propose a specialised and an international-oriented training • However, progress is made • English is mastered by many students • This enables transfer of lawyers in other offices

  13. Ressources • French lack of flexibility • French labour market specificities • Hard to find workers doing extra time • Hard to find assistant for punctual files • Administrative constraints • 35 hours a week • Cost of employement and hiring

  14. Ressources • Specificities of being a lawyer in France • Independant statute  don’t have to abide by Labour law contrary to other countries • Enable them to avoid French labour market rules

  15. Values • Individualism: lawyers are traditionally really independant but in France this feeling is stronger • Visible through the language: « Come to my law firm », « Personally, I think that… » • Due to historical reasons: law firms were traditionally societies where the only thing in common was the ressources, vs the model of partnerships

  16. Values • The French culture regarding work is totally incompatible with the requirements of a law firm • The functioning of a law firm requires to be available for the client at every moment • The impredictable work requires to do extra hours very frequently • But it is really difficult to find people, especially among secretaries or other assistants, that are willing to work hard

  17. Values • A totally different image of the lawyer in France and in Anglo-saxon countries • In France, the lawyer is perceived as a theorician, a pure legal expert • On the contrary, Anglo-saxon lawyers are perceived in France as wheeler-dealers, commercials, more interested in money than in theory • It is linked with the different nature of the law system: common law vs civil law • There is a kind of sin of pride, due to the specificities of the French training: without the possibility to specialize, French lawyers believe that they know everything about the law rules • It’s the reason that explain the slow development of the profession in France: in France, the relation to money is strictly linked with notions of morality

  18. Prospects for the future • The expansion of the French office is mandatory in the alliance • But on such a competitive market, ther is a need to find new sources of profit • That’s the reason why the African expertise of Herbert Smith can be an important asset • Because Africa is gaining importance in this market due to the trade of raw materials • Because Africa doesn’t have an unified law, which requires the involvement of lawyers

  19. Recommandations • Glocalization • Being full service using the alliance and fostering cross fertilization of practices • At the same time, developing local specificities in each office • Attract the best profiles • Internationalizing the recruitment • Fostering tranferts across offices • Try to develop a worldwide culture of the firm • To reduce lawyers’ individualism • To unify the practices in the different offices (behavorial control)

  20. Acknowledgements • Mickael Segalla • Jack Anderson • Neil Brimson • Jean-Didier Billard • Dominique Brault • Patrick Bignon

  21. Sources • Legal Week • The Lawyer • Law.com • Chambers Global 2005 • Legal 500 • Décideurs Juridiques

More Related