If the immediate post-recession years saw deal flow across the City plummet, the regional legal market certainly was no shelter from the storm. Squeezed by greater costs pressure as City law firms lowered their rates, alongside a sharp reduction in work as many key projects were put on hold, the regional legal market has not had an easy ride in recent years.

But for the rising corporate stars at UK-wide firms who made partner in the aftermath of the financial crisis, the world of scarce work, fee competition and a sharp focus on winning clients is the only one they have experienced.

Antony Walsh of Eversheds, who made partner in May 2011, says: "People talk about the new normal but I have only been a partner in the post-crunch era so the work you need to put in to win new business and create deep relationships is all I have ever known."

The challenges for all would-be partners are the same: how do you handle the transition from having a pipeline of work coming through to you as a senior associate to standing on your own two feet? And what is the most effective strategy to build a client following? Without a ready stream of work to build a brand upon, the demands placed on post-crisis partners across the UK are both different to those that have made partner before them, and to those that have made partner in the more quick-to-recover City corporate practices.

Building your profile

With partners judged on their client following and fee generating ability, many lawyers who have made partner since Lehman's 2008 crash have been forced to diversify their client base to meet expectations, with each client throwing up less work than in pre-crunch times.

Christopher Taylor of Addleshaw Goddard who made partner in 2010 says: "In a firm like Addleshaw Goddard you are required to effectively step up to the role of partnership and win your own work from day one, you are no longer given work by other partners rather you have to go and find it."

However, it would be misleading to suggest that this challenge only starts the day a lawyer becomes partner. In the years pre-partnership the network that lawyers build and the clients they work with are the key to establishing a strong book of business at partner level.

Mark Wesker of Osborne Clarke who made partner in 2014 argues that a lot of the key work is done in the years before promotion, he says: "In many ways, the transition takes place in the two years or so before the promotion. That is of course a challenging time for you in your career – you are to some extents doing the job of partner and also the job of senior associate simultaneously."

Conscious of the transition from senior associate to partner, many firms do not simply hand their newly made-up partner the reins. Bob Bishop, head of DLA Piper's international corporate group says: "We try to ensure that our new partners continue working with more senior partners on certain deals (where appropriate), so they can continue to learn the ropes."

Greg Leyshon (pictured), head of Osborne Clarke's business transactions group, adds: "The key difference when you become a partner is that your focus changes to one of developing relationships and developing new client opportunities. The emphasis changes quite dramatically, which is quite a shock for some people. We try and prepare our senior associates going through that transition by getting them heavily involved in client relationship meetings and pitches, so it is not so much of a shock for them when they are promoted to partner."

Firms clearly put a great deal of time and effort into preparing associates for partnership. Ultimately, however, it is up to the individual whether they sink or swim. Making partner in the years following the credit crunch has provided a tough school for the newer generation of partners and they have had to focus their approach in order to flourish.

Going national

For partners in UK-wide law firms there is considerable difference of opinion about the most effective way to establish a strong client following and a good flow of work. For some, it is all about building key relationships locally and standing out in your immediate market place. For others location isn't important, it is more about building skills and experience that they can then go out and sell to clients, wherever they may be.

Shoosmiths partner Kieran Toal says: "I am a local lad and I have been in the Manchester market for all of my legal career. Peers who were at a junior level with me are now decisions makers who are able to decide or influence where work is given. You can't ignore national or international and both are important in building a practice in a national UK law firm, but I seem to have benefited from being in the Manchester market doing deals over many years and those relationships have been a key source of work for me."

Fellow Manchester lawyer, Pinsent Masons corporate and private equity partner Andrew Phillips (pictured) has a similar view point, saying: "It is quite a close knit professional community in the corporate finance space. You get the ability to get to know a lot of people very well and if you can embed yourself in that market it should breed work if you do the work well."

But the needs of local clients can be very different to international clients, which in itself presents a challenge.

Keith Froud, Eversheds global head of company commercial shares his thoughts on the most effective way to build a profile: "Some people would be focused on a particular part of the market or a specific sector with clients which are not necessarily local to them, but other partners will earn their spurs in their immediate market. Within Eversheds all of our partners will have worked with clients from geographies around the world so they will be building that experience and that contact and client base as they go along."

The end of the generalist

One thing that the stars of the post-crisis generation at UK-wide firms agree on is that the age of the corporate generalist has been and gone. To thrive in a competitive market, lawyers need to present a unique set of skills or knowledge to stand out to prospective clients.

Leyshon says: "The days of making partner as a generalist M&A partner and building a career around that are long gone. You tend to find that the more successful partners are able to do a broad base of M&A work but then focus on particular industry sectors and particular client types."

Pinsent Masons M&A partner Nicole Livesey, who was promoted this year, has built her practice around a focus on the manufacturing sector. She says: "Having a sector specialism sets you apart, builds your reputation to get you in front of clients and results in you being able to undertake the transactions effectively, focusing on and pre-empting the issues that truly matter."

M&A partners are expected to have honed their technical abilities and client handling skills in the earlier years of their career so as to be able to handle a wide array of deals. Successful lawyers need to be adaptable to both changes in the market and changes in technology – and use that broad base of experience as the foundation for a more unique offering.

Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co's head of corporate Sunil Kakkad (pictured), says: "The ability to adapt to market trends is very important. While that doesn't mean that you need a chameleon-like ability to switch between sectors, it does help having a strong focus on one or two sectors."

Whether in Manchester, Bristol or London if there is one thing that the post-crunch generation of partners have in common it is that they all came of age in an environment when to do work meant going out and getting it. As they seek to differentiate themselves from their peers, specialisation and a willingness to adapt and innovate to deal with changes in the market has become mandatory. It may have been a tough ride to prove themselves, but with deal markets on the rise their adaptability should stand them in good stead.

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