Suzanna Ring talks to Freshfields' new City head about plans to bring in a better work/life deal for associates

"It's a bit like being a cox in a rowing boat. If everyone is rowing in sync, the boat is going to move much better. My role is part helping set the direction and part getting everyone pointing the same way and oiling the machinery to achieve this," says Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Mark Rawlinson of his new role as London head.

Freshfields born and raised, the role is not Rawlinson's first management position at the firm he joined in 1982, following a three-year stint as London corporate head that ended this summer. However, in taking over from his predecessor Tim Jones, Rawlinson, who to date has been better known for his transactional work than management matters, has set himself a bigger challenge: transforming the office's working culture.

Known for its roles on high-profile M&A mandates and a strong corporate client base, like many of its magic circle peers Freshfields is equally well-known for conforming to a white, largely-male, Oxbridge partner stereotype – a stereotype that Rawlinson himself meets – and a tough working environment.

Rawlinson intends to change that image. Focusing his attention until his term ends in December 2013 on people and diversity, he is aiming to get the firm in shape for the next generation – and this includes removing the perception that associate morale has fallen below par.

mark-rawlinson-freshfieldsDespite being one of the few leading City firms not to undertake largescale associate redundancies, Freshfields has been dogged in recent years by claims of poor morale and excessive workloads in some teams. Critics also argue that understandable cost-cutting since the banking crisis has at times been taken to counter-productive extremes. Certainly, there has appeared to be a sizeable gap between a partnership confident that the firm is in world-beating shape on one hand and a restless, sometimes mistrustful mood among the troops on the other.

As such, a key challenge will be modernising the firm's famously proactive and pragmatic style. In many ways it is a positive image that Rawlinson himself epitomises, but it is also a style some see as prone to macho excess and over reliance on the kind of team spirit learned on the playing fields.

"Where there is a perception it takes a long time to change it. I think we do a lot of things right when it comes to associates in terms of communication and remuneration. But we will be reviewing our work allocation to make sure that our associates are getting enough opportunities, as well as doing more to maintain a sensible work/ life balance," Rawlinson says.

Though the average number of chargeable hours for London associates stood at 1,720 last year, there were significant differences between those at the top and bottom end of the scale, with Rawlinson pledging both to more evenly distribute work and to ensure that associates are able to maintain a better balance between work and personal life.

"I promise you that in five to 10 years' time law firms will look different. Part of this is about flexibility and part is addressing more modern working processes."

With flexible working an issue many City firms have traditionally struggled with, Rawlinson is keen to address the problem head on and deal with the stigma that leads many lawyers to assume that asking to work reduced hours would be career suicide.

Having set the ball rolling with a 12-month flexible-working pilot launched in the corporate practice in October last year, he is now looking to extend this more widely across the City. He has already enlisted dispute resolution partner Nigel Rawding as people partner to spearhead the initiative.

"One of the problems with flexible working at the moment is the misplaced perception that there is a stigma attached to it. People using flexible working are reticent about admitting to it. We've got to empower people. Unless people feel empowered to take this up and feel it is normal rather than the exception, they will not want to do it. Part of that is getting people to advocate it," argues Rawlinson.

While flexible-working schemes will be open to both male and female lawyers, the focus also fits with Rawlinson's desire to deal with diversity and, in particular, the retention of female lawyers, which Rawlinson states is "a business imperative" for all law firms.

Having been appointed to Freshfields' diversity committee in June, Rawlinson will be working with fellow committee member, intellectual property (IP) partner Avril Martindale, to increase diversity in the London office. Meanwhile, he has lined up IP head Richard Lister to look after a client relationship management programme that will see the London office investing more time in strengthening key client relationships across all practice groups.

With the legal services market becoming more global, Rawlinson is also keenly aware that London will not always take centre stage for Freshfields. With this in mind, much of his thought is around getting the City headquarters in shape and operating as an efficient business centre in its own right so that his successors will have an easier role.

For now, though, with his new London business plan recently finalised, Rawlinson's main task is rallying the troops and ensuring they are as enthusiastic about the firm as he is. And, of course, figuring out how a man so representative of the deal-doing attitude the firm is most closely associated with can continue to fit in transactional work at the same time as leading its City arm.

"One thing I will have to manage is how my fee-earning time and my management time work together," concludes Rawlinson. "To maintain street cred here you've got to carry on doing the deals. If you've got good deals and good clients, it's easier to maintain respect. If you get too far removed from the front line, you start to lose credibility."

Career timeline

1980 Graduates from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge with an MA in history and law

1981 Graduates from the College of Law, Guildford

1982 Joins Freshfields as a trainee

1984 Qualifies at Freshfields

1990 Makes partner

2008-11 Takes up three-year term as London corporate head

July 2011 Takes up role as London managing partner