As moves from firmwide management back to fee earning become more common in the UK, Justin Cash examines the opportunities and pitfalls of returning to the coalface

When former Ashurst senior partner Charlie Geffen was defeated in last year's chairman election by litigator Ben Tidswell, his most obvious next move in many people's minds would have been gracefully side-stepping into a role with a client. Failing that, another in-house corporate job or a 'portfolio' career beckoned.
Leaving private practice would have been the easy option in the eyes of most partners. But he didn't do that; instead, 12 months on, he's set to return to the coalface at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.

Geffen's move is perhaps the most high-profile example of a small but growing trend of UK law firm leaders opting to return to full-time fee earning either at their own firm or – more unusually – at a rival.

It is a transition that raises myriad questions: do years in management weaken client relationships and take the edge off razor-sharp litigation or M&A skills? How do you ensure that doesn't happen and how do you balance the challenge of management with maintaining some client relationships? And once you have made the decision to return to practice, is it better to stay at your old firm or move elsewhere?

While relatively common practice in the more lightly managed environment
of US law firms, examples of managers swapping spreadsheets for time sheets have historically been harder to come by on this side of the Atlantic. However, the number making this choice has been steadily climbing in recent years.

The first 10 months of 2014 alone have seen at least four other partners make the move back to more client-facing responsibilities in London and the US.

At Watson Farley & Williams, longstanding managing partner Michael Greville stepped down in January to return to fee earning in the finance practice specialising in the shipping, oil and gas sectors, while Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy's Russell Jacobs is now back full time in the firm's tax practice following four years also in charge of the London office.

And while one of Hogan Lovells' former co-chief executives – David Harris – took the more traditional UK route into retirement, his US counterpart, Warren Gorrell, returned to full-time client work in July when he stepped aside after four years leading the merged firm and a further nine at the helm of legacy Hogan & Hartson as chairman. Also on the other side of the pond, last month Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson's former senior partner, Valerie Ford Jacob, returned to full-time client duties with her high-profile move to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in New York.

Other noteworthy returns to the coalface in recent years include Simon Bromwich's (pictured, right) switch from Ashurst managing partner to become the firm's dispute resolution head in 2012, and former Simmons & Simmons managing partner Mark Dawkins joining Bingham McCutchen's London arm in September 2011. He has now transferred to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

"I suspect you wouldn't have found so many managing or senior partners doing this 20 or 30 years ago," says Travers Smith managing partner Andrew Lilley, who intends to return to full-time fee earning when his term in office comes to a close at the end of the year. "My impression is that there are more partners in management roles who are seeking to continue with client work, and I think this will happen more and more. There's no hard and fast rule; doing a management role doesn't disqualify you from going back to fee earning, but it doesn't necessarily make it any easier either."

Lilley was clear from the outset that he planned to return to client work after his term in the executive role, and as such agreed only to a shortened second term and has attempted to combine both roles throughout. The general consensus is that while many years in management dedicated to looking after a law firm inevitably make it more difficult, maintaining regular links with clients is essential for those planning to go back to the front line.

So while fee-earning hours may have been thin on the ground for Geffen in between agreeing Australian mergers and seeking opportunities in the US, some partners say he was careful to retain links with key private equity clients such as Apax, Cinven and Warburg Pincus during his five years in firmwide leadership. Those who fail to do this may struggle more with the transition back to rank and file partner.

"When you first go back into practice, they want to know what's been on your CV for the last five years," explains Bromwich. "If you haven't undertaken any fee-earning work, that can be a problem but it's one that can be overcome.

"The challenge is how to get your profile back if you're out of the business for a while. You need to work hard with help from the firm and the practice. That support has been there for me."

Bromwich says he was particularly fortunate in that, when he returned to head up the disputes team, his firm was actively looking to build the practice outside the UK, giving him a clear mandate to drive forward and grow his chosen area.

Juggling act
While senior partners rather than managing partners may find it easier to retain some degree of client work, juggling the two roles can rile some of their colleagues. Such disgruntlement can grow if the manager in question's practice area is one in which workloads are harder to control, such as large M&A transactions or disputes. At Travers, Lilley points out that one of the reasons he has been able to handle both commitments is that practising employment law means he is less likely to be taken out of action for a month or two to deal with a big case.

"I think there are people who would question whether you are going to do the best job as a manager if you are also working hard for clients," he says. "What's been the percentage of time I've spent doing client work? Probably around 25%. Would Travers have benefited more from that time being devoted to management rather than my clients? You could debate that forever."

In New York firms straddling the two roles is the norm, as evidenced by the likes of Mike Francies at Weil Gotshal & Manges in London and, at a global level, Tom Reid at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Partners at US firms therefore tend to disagree that management and practising law are incompatible.

One partner at a Wall Street law firm in London, who recently came out of a management role, comments: "We are all lawyering. It wasn't really an issue in my mind of how I would go back to that – I was more wondering if there were enough hours in the day to do it all.

"With so many technical developments in law it would be dangerous to step out of a fee-earning role altogether. You can get cold quite easily. That's the danger of having such segregated roles – clients change constantly, particularly in the City. You could come back to fee earning only to find your guys have disappeared. With increasing internal competition too, there are always people lined up to take your breakfast, your lunch and your dinner from you too."

Transferable skills
According to those who have done it, there are some definite advantages to bringing a former manager back into the team. In addition to the fact that those making the move will inevitably be senior names with plenty of experience and good reputations, managers can often have a keener eye for the bigger commercial picture. They will also be used to getting the most out of a team, as well as being well-versed in testing negotiations and the nitty-gritty of financial planning.

"A huge amount of what I learnt in the central role is completely applicable," Bromwich insists. "Some clients like the fact that their advisers have had a business role with the firm. They like it because they feel you are on their side of the table, that you get the full commercial picture. On the people side, as managing partner you are very familiar with the issues and concerns of the partnership."

Exit plans
And of course for those who don't fancy a return to the battle zone there are still plenty of alternatives available, whether that is teaming up with a client, going in-house or finding a consulting position. Late last year former Freshfields global managing partner Ted Burke announced he was taking on the role of general counsel and COO of ArcLight Capital, an energy-focused private equity firm based in his home town of Boston.

Meanwhile Dick Tyler, who spent two terms as managing partner and one as senior partner at CMS Cameron McKenna before being replaced by Penelope Warne this May, is now an executive coach and business consultant to professional services organisations and their leaders, as well as consulting for CMS itself.

The trick for all partners is making sure they spend the time thinking about their next move well in advance. "I had done management jobs for 14 years, which is almost as long as I had been doing full-time fee-earning work," Tyler says. "I could have gone back into it, and the firm would have let me, but both I and the firm were ready for a change.

"You've got a fixed end date; you know that much from the day you start. Knowing I had that gave me the opportunity, and perhaps the impetus, to think about my next move sooner than I otherwise might have."

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Q&A: Sunil Gadhia
Sunil Gadhia is a litigation partner in the London office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. He joined Cleary as a partner in May 2012 after more than 23 years at Stephenson Harwood, where he served as chief executive from 2003 to 2009, at which point he returned to full-time fee earning.

Why did you decide to return to full-time fee earning rather than stay in management?
I was in management for more than five years but I never gave up fee earning. My role always included a significant amount of client work; it was part of the bargain when I took on the position – I said I'd only do the job on this basis. I set myself a target of an average of 800 billable hours a year, and I achieved that every year bar two, when I did more.
 
What was your motivation for carrying on with the client work?
My motivation was three-fold.
1) I thought the business needed as many partners as possible at that time contributing to the top and bottom line – we didn't have the luxury for me not to.
2) I never wanted to be a career managing partner. It was always on the basis that I would do it for five to six years and, to be able to return to client work, I thought I needed to keep it up. Looking back, had I not done so I would not have had the chance to join Cleary's disputes practice.
3) I think it keeps you sane. You get more immediate feedback and reward from client work than with management, when a lot of the results will be further down the road.
 
How did you manage to combine the two roles? 
In many places there is a tendency for the managing partner to do everything, but I was clear from the outset about what I would and would not do. I don't think there's any need for the managing partner to be involved in the back office. There is a lot involved in running any business that does not need to be done by the person at the very top and it is the same in law firms.
 
What advantages did you find from combining the two roles?
I discovered a lot of benefits. People (partners, associates and clients) were much more willing to listen to you if you were part of the client-facing infrastructure, and partners were much less likely to waste your time with unimportant things because they knew how busy you were. Things only got to me when they needed to.

There's also no doubt that you become a much better lawyer. You're much more in tune with the way your clients see things because you become much more business-focused.
 
Do you think it would be more difficult to combine the roles at a bigger firm?
If you're at a much bigger firm it would be more difficult but then big US firms seem to manage it. For example, Mark Leddy has remained an integral client-facing part of the antitrust practice throughout his tenure as Cleary's managing partner. But I think people who take on these management roles sometimes end up filling time with things they shouldn't be doing. There has to be a desire to do client work and then it's about being disciplined about how you should spend your time and managing the people around you by making it clear what you will and will not do.
 
How easy did you find the transition back to full-time client work?
For me it was an easy transition but I think it would have been much more difficult if I'd been out of practice completely. How do you demonstrate that you can still deliver high-quality legal advice if you haven't done so for six years while you were running a law firm?
 
What advice would you give to others thinking of taking on a management role but keen not to close the door on client work?
1) Don't give up your client work in the first place – try to keep on a reasonable amount.
2) Have a very clear idea of what you're going to spend your time on and stick to it.
3) Have good people around you.
4) Be prepared to work very hard.