Although Slaughter and May may have a famously conservative history, that does not mean it is entirely closed to change. Having taken on the mantle of practice partner at the magic circle firm just a few months ago, David Wittmann has responsibility for ensuring the firm is capturing business in key developing markets. And following the hire of Slaughters' first ever lateral partner last year in Hong Kong, he is not ruling out the possibility of further recruitment. In fact, hiring laterals in Hong Kong could become a necessity.

Under Wittmann's watch, the firm will mainly focus on Southeast Asia, Africa and potentially India as key markets for business development.

This is a slight expansion on the earlier intentions of his predecessor, Paul Olney, who left in January after six years in the role and three decades at the firm. Olney had sets his sights on China, but the firm's focus is broadening as the rise of US competitors in Hong Kong encourages UK firms like Slaughters to gravitate further south towards the legal hub of Singapore and surrounding countries where English law is more widely revered. Though the firm has no plans to open any new offices or add any new members to its illustrious 'best friends' network of five continental European allies, Wittmann will be looking at strengthening ties with non-exclusive international preferred firms and potentially adding more.

Wittmann has the task of driving a consensus for the firm's strategy as well as managing internal initiatives, which he admits is "not very glamorous". He began the role on 1 January, having joined the firm nearly 30 years ago, making partner in 1997. Working alongside executive partner Richard Clark and senior partner Chris Saul, Wittmann's first term will run until April 2017, coinciding with Clark's term, while Saul's ends in April 2016.

The battle for Hong Kong
Having made its first ever lateral partner hire last year when US-qualified John Moore joined the Hong Kong office from Morrison & Foerster, Wittmann is open about the delicate matter of Slaughters' dampened leverage in Hong Kong and mainland China as US firms muscle in. "We've never shut out the possibility of taking laterals who are either the right people for us or who meet a particular practice demand," he says. "But as it happens we hadn't taken a lateral partner before John Moore joined. We wouldn't rule out other laterals joining."

The move reflected a growing trend for Hong Kong clients to turn to the US capital markets. Whereas previously Slaughters may have partnered with a US firm in such a situation, some of these allies have become competitors in the region. "In Hong Kong you can't grow a US practice organically; you need to seed it with someone externally if you don't have that practice. If we can develop more work and if there are a lot more initial public offerings (IPOs) coming in then obviously we'll need more US lawyers to do that."

Previously, Slaughters enjoyed referral work in Hong Kong from the likes of US firms Davis Polk & Wardwell, Sullivan & Cromwell and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. "They are now competitors for IPOs in Hong Kong and therefore our model – which had been perfectly successful with us doing the Hong Kong law piece and one of them doing the New York law piece – isn't available to us anymore," explains Wittmann.

However, the firm will not react by opening the floodgates. "We're not trying to make a big push in New York law in Hong Kong; it's a response to a need so that we can provide the necessary client service," he says. "We're looking to grow the office generally."

The firm currently has 13 partners and 42 other fee earners in Hong Kong and Beijing.

The long game
As demand for US law capability grows in Hong Kong, Southeast Asia is becoming increasingly important in the medium term. Slaughters is aiming to increase its work in the region using its existing Hong Kong and Beijing offices as a base. "English law is a system that's often more respected around Southeast Asia and therefore it is an obvious place to try and grow," Wittmann points out.

And Slaughters wouldn't be the only firm keen to gain traction: last year Allen & Overy (A&O) launched in Myanmar as the sole magic circle firm on the ground. Baker & McKenzie, Singapore's Allen & Gledhill (A&G) and Berwin Leighton Paisner also moved in, although the latter via an alliance. Indonesia has similarly attracted attention with several firms forging alliances.

Slaughters already has several longstanding relationships in place across Southeast Asia. A&G, for example, is a key non-exclusive alliance. The two firms have worked closely together for the past three years.

The firm is also aiming to push harder into Africa with referral links, focusing on the major economies such as Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana and South Africa. "Africa is a medium-term opportunity," says Wittmann. "Economically it's a developing area so our focus is on the bigger, more economically active and hub countries, rather than every country across the continent."

Slaughters has two or three preferred firms in each of the above African countries. For example, it works closely with Coulson Harney and Anjarwalla & Khanna in Kenya and Werksmans and Bowman Gilfillan in South Africa.

The firm's clients in the region include European investors such as Prudential and
Zurich-headquartered reinsurance company Swiss Re. To date much of Slaughters' African work has been in its central practices, which it plans to build on. "We're looking at core areas, such as disputes, corporate and M&A – reasonably sized acquisitions and disputes in jurisdictions where English law is trusted," Wittmann explains.

Slaughters is also attempting to capture more work from the active local energy market. For example, last month it landed a £47bn mandate advising Shell on its acquisition of natural gas producer BG Group.

India, with its still tight restrictions on overseas firms, is another target for business development. "India is potentially a massive market," says Wittmann. "History means that India may be a more natural place for English law than China, considering the way Chinese law has developed."

Australian angst
Slaughters is not just looking to expand its relationships into new regions. It also needs to defend areas where it already has successful working relationships with local firms. Australia is a prime example: Slaughters has been forced to pay closer attention to its allies down under after Linklaters allied itself with former local partner Allens in 2012.

Most recently, Hogan Lovells announced that it will open offices in Sydney and Perth in July this year. The initial rush of launches kicked off in January 2010 when legacy Norton Rose's merger with Deacons went live. Ashurst, Herbert Smith Freehills, Clifford Chance and A&O have also all set up offices in Australia in recent years. "Inevitably there is more internal focus on Australia; we are reaching out to [our alliance firms]," says Wittmann.

Slaughters partners with responsibilities for Australia include Nigel Boardman, Neil Hyman and David Johnson. "They are going to Australia slightly more frequently and giving more thought to which clients we could work with and what sessions and other events we could do together," continues Wittmann.

In Australia Slaughters now works closely with Clayton Utz and Gilbert + Tobin. Wittmann says these firms may be able to win more referral work as the legal landscape shifts and international firms continue to pile in: "There will be a lot of angst about finding out that you are now managed from outside Australia. Firms that have stayed independent could at first receive more referral work because they are not allied with a particular firm and secondly find good partners wanting to move to them."

Ultimately though, Slaughters will always focus primarily on its Western roots. As Wittmann concludes: "Our main focus is our European and US business. I think regulation and energy are growth areas, and then we see Southeast Asia and Africa as areas of growth in the medium term."

Change, then, at Slaughters' pace.