"Last year was not a good one financially," admits David Dickinson, Simmons & Simmons' managing partner elect.
As well as being the man the Simmons & Simmons partnership have chosen to steer them out of
its current crisis, Dickinson is clearly also a master of the understatement.
However, he insists that the firm is in a much better shape than people realise. For example, he says that this year turnover is up nearly 20% compared with the same period last year and that forecasts are very encouraging.
Of course, Dickinson would not being doing his job properly if he did not portray Simmons in the best possible light.
But his grasp of the finer details of the firm's balance sheet does little to disguise the fact that Simmons is a firm going through a painful period of restructuring.
Poor profits during the last two years have prompted the firm's senior management to reform the way that the partners are paid. In turn, this has led to an exodus of senior partners.
Now Dickinson, the former head of the firm's banking and capital markets team, has four months to shadow the outgoing managing director Alan Morris to see what can be done to strengthen the firm's position.
Dickinson's management experience is limited. The partnership rejected his candidacy three years ago, instead opting for Morris, then the firm's finance director.
This time around they have gone for an insider. And Dickinson definitely has the ear of senior partner Bill Knight. The question now is whether he can deliver on his manifesto promises.
He does not start from a position of strength. His first job will be to settle the partnership after a number of high-profile defections. A trio of partners left in October to set up Chicago-based McDermott Will & Emery's London office, including former head of corporate finance William Charnley and former head of tax Peter Nias.
They were followed by corporate partner Mark Carroll, who joined Clifford Chance, head of environment Stephen Tromans, who is leaving to join the Bar, head of litigation Paul Mitchard, who joined the London office of US firm Wilmer & Cutler, and corporate finance partner Audrey Campbell, who is going to Taylor Joynson Garrett.
One partner at a City rival says that after losing such a number of high-profile partners "it is inconceivable that the firm will be independent by the end of the year."
But Dickinson is incredulous at such a suggestion. "I find that a most extraordinary statement," he says. "We have more than 1400 staff, a presence in nine jurisdictions and a turnover in excess of £100m. We have an extremely strong client base and we have a lot of talented lawyers."
Dickinson does not exude the kind of confident air that is typical of other managing partners. He speaks softly, slightly nervously, carefully considering his words in the company of his public relations manager. At one point during the interview he was asked what most appealed to him about the firm. His reaction was immediate: his voice raised several octaves and with almost childish enthusiasm, he started: "It's a nice…" But then he checks himself and apologises to his colleague.
"They're good people," he says, slowly, his choice of words more measured this time. "Like most law firms some may be a bit eclectic, but they're nice people – the spirit of the partnership is very strong and I think there is perhaps a kinder atmosphere here than at some other firms."
During the next few months, Dickinson's decisions will not only be scrutinised by his own partnership, but also the senior management of his firm's rivals.
The crucial question is whether Dickinson can stabilise the partnership by building a consensus around a long-term view. He must also understand the mood of the partnership and identify the real reasons why people are leaving.
Clifford Chance managing partner Tony Williams says: "It is vital to have a clear view of what the firm is going to achieve over the longer term, otherwise you get sucked into the day-to-day issues and you run around in circles."
Dickinson says he is already ahead of the game. "One has to be fairly consensus driven in law firms – lawyers are trained to be independently minded, they are also trained to take positions on things and it is very important that we have a strong collegiate atmosphere, built up by talking to people. Working on that is key: to make sure the partners are happy with the direction [in which] we are going."
His election manifesto identifies the key priorities for the Simmons & Simmons of the future. "The key issues for us are developing further our City practice," he says, "by which I mean building on the top companies, major investment banks and government agencies we act for, and consolidating and continuing to strengthen further our international presence." (See table).
Dickinson sits on the firm's strategy and policy committee, which consists of seven other partners and is chaired by senior partner Bill Knight, and the operations committee, which is made up of the 17 heads of both legal and support staff departments. (See below right).
Dickinson will have to win support for his ideas among the people that make up these committees. Then he will have to take them to the rest of the partnership.
But first he wants to restore Simmons' image within the profession.
He rejects claims that the firm is too bogged down by bureaucracy to function effectively and that the lines of communication between the partnership and the senior management have failed.
"All large organisations are bureaucratic to some extent," he says, "but to get the best out of this business, good ideas from the partners have to be listened to. We are pretty good at inter-communication. In fact, I think in that way we may be rather more organised than some of our competition."
He also strongly refutes suggestions that the move to the new City landmark, City Point, is being reviewed. The firm has committed itself to 246,000 sq ft of office space over eight floors and has options on three additional floors. The move is scheduled for June 2000.
And on the loss of so many partners in the last few months, Dickinson is philosophical.
"There have been a large number of partners leaving a large number of law firms. At Simmons, if you look at individual cases the reasons are extremely diverse. Some didn't like the process of change; for others the process of change was not quick enough;
and some left for entirely personal reasons.
"The market is generally pretty unstable – it is a period of adjustment and I suppose in some ways realignment."
But Dickinson emphasises that last year the firm made up 23 new partners, both in London and in the firm's foreign offices. That figure is not thought to include the salaried partners given full equity status under Alan Morris.
And sources say that Simmons is close to announcing the arrival of several new partners recruited from leading City rivals.
If Simmons is going to pull through its current crisis, it is not going to be by imposing draconian gardening leave clauses which force partners to stick around.
Dickinson says he has no plans to introduce restrictive working clauses or prolonged gardening leave into partners' contracts as firms such as Wilde Sapte have done to restore stability, despite reports that the firm's remaining stars have been bombarded by calls from City head hunters.
"Very few businesses, where you have people standing outside
windows shouting about large cheques, actually remain as solid as this business has," he says.
It may be wishful thinking, but Simmons believes the changes in the partnership structure will unleash a new wave of talent from within the firm – talent that will be sufficiently rewarded by the firm to want to stay on board.
So the full merit-based system of partner remuneration, introduced by Morris, is set
to stay.
"I think the market has changed and I believe more flexibility in the way partners are remunerated is needed," Dickinson says. "Whether or not that becomes industry standard, I don't know, but I suspect it may do. We are a firm that is ambitious to get better and, to do so, more flexibility will be necessary."
So Dickinson has set out his stall. Sources say he will have to work hard to earn the respect of the entire partnership – his inter-personal and general management skills have still to be truly tested. But as of 1 May, he will be at the helm, chosen by the partnership to steer Simmons through the pain of finalising its equity structure, building a consensual vision of the future and settling the partnership into its new home without disturbing its existing culture.
The long-term vision is there, but is it the right one? Dickinson rejects outright any talk of a merger. And that may be the right choice for Simmons. But watch out for mergers among the firm's peer group that may force Dickinson to have a rethink.