Any law firm manager elected or re-elected in the middle of the last decade probably faced a similar dilemma to Clifford Chance's David Childs: voted in during a boom, these leaders found their roles re-cast as the economy took a dramatic turn for the worse.

As many managing partners over recent years will attest, leading a firm through a downturn is certainly a test of mettle, forcing them to take hard decisions about resources and costs that were more easily swept under the carpet during the more forgiving reigns of their predecessors.

For Childs, this meant a partnership restructuring and staff cuts among several other unpopular measures, as he attempted to keep CC's turnover and profits on the right trajectory. But as Childs prepares to hand over to managing partner-elect Matthew Layton in the coming months, it is clear that the incomer also has some hard decisions to make, despite taking over in a more positive market.

Once seen as a clear leader among its peer group, not only in revenue terms but also because of its progressive and expansionist nature – typified by 'Vision for the Future', a manifesto to make it "the world's premier law firm" – CC's position is not as clear-cut as it once was. A disappointing set of financials last year has seen Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer inch closer to CC's place at the head of the top 50, while falling partner profits and the departure of a couple of star partners in recent years have caused some to question whether the firm is losing a little of its lustre. 

It is widely acknowledged within the firm, including by the incumbent and upcoming managing partners, that the thorny issue of the US still needs to be grasped. Still bruised from its ambitious but ultimately disastrous tie-up with Rogers & Wells in 1999, CC is underweight – and, partners believe, underperforming – in this key market. There is also the matter of rewarding key performers and managing a potentially top-heavy lockstep to contend with. Partners, ex-partners and rivals see the need to challenge the status quo, but CC is understandably concerned about the impact on culture and fall-out any such moves could create.

However, while the City may have learnt from, and in many cases caught up with, CC's forward-thinking attitude of the late 90s and early 2000s, let's not be under any illusions that this is a firm on a long-term downwards trajectory. Moves such as its recent efficiency drive, adapted from the manufacturing industry, prove CC can still think originally, while its Indonesia launch shows it isn't scared of taking opportunities in new markets. 

We keenly await 'Vision for the Future: the revised and updated edition'.