Ince & Co's international senior partner, Jan Heuvels, is feeling popular.

Earlier this month it was reported that the firm was in the market for a merger. The reaction has been an avalanche of phone calls from partners at other firms.

"I have never had so many friends I can tell you, in terms of giving me calls, it's just remarkable," Heuvels says laughing. How many friends has he got now? "Five thousand," he jokes, though he does not mention names.

However, he stresses that a merger is just one of the options open to the firm. "It's a potential way of achieving our strategic goal, it's not the be all and end all," he adds.

Heuvels, who took over the senior partner role in January after a successful stint as head of the firm's Hamburg office, admits the firm is currently in "transition" after a difficult few years.

Tough years
Revenue fell 8% in 2014-15 and Ince has also seen partner exits and redundancies in recent times.

In spring 2014 it cut 16 roles in London following a redundancy consultation. That was followed by the exit of six partners in the wake of a restructuring exercise in April this year.

Global head of shipping, Faz Peermohamed, meanwhile is leaving to become chief executive of the Norweigan Hull Club, one of the firm's biggest clients, at the beginning of 2016.

In addition Ince is three years into a five-year programme to modernise its business services function, with long-standing IT director Frank White leaving earlier this summer.

Despite these issues Heuvels rejects the perception of some in the market that the firm is in crisis and that its bid to merge is a move borne of desperation. "If that's what people want to believe, let them believe it," he says.

He says he is "very proud" of the restructuring in April even though he accepts it left some partners exiting the firm unhappy. "It was something the firm agreed it needed to do," he says.

Asked if it is likely that more partners would leave, he says: "I have no doubt more people will leave and more people will join, because we are in a transition of the business."

But Heuvels is positive about the future. A cornerstone of that positivity is the new strategy that was agreed at the firm's partner conference in September, where he was also given the mandate to pursue potential merger opportunities.

Optimistic outlook
The main focus of the strategy is to re-balance the firm away from its current reliance on disputes work by strengthening the transactional side of the business. Currently 75% of Ince & Co's business is disputes, with just 25% made up of transactional work.

It's something that Heuvels says he wants to achieve in two to three years. In order to reach that goal he says that all options are on the table; organic growth, lateral hires, small regional mergers or a full firm merger.

However, his intention is to stick to the firm's five core sectors of shipping, insurance, energy, aviation and trade, which he says will rule out a lot of potential merger partners.

Heuvels comments: "It was felt and agreed at the global partners meeting that we needed to reach outside. There is no way we can do this organically in the time frame.

"We know what our strategy is, our strategy is clear and I would like it quickly but I am not desperate. I am naturally quite an impatient person so I would like to get on with it."

He is keen to stress that he is not currently in detailed discussions with any potential merger partners, though he concedes he is having "ongoing coffees" with various senior partners.

"I am always happy to have a coffee," he says. "I did that in my previous life as an insurance lawyer, it's a good way of finding out what is going on. But none of these discussions have progressed to merger as we have been very clear and whether they ever will is another matter."

He says that the firm may be willing to break its lockstep arrangements if necessary in order to do a merger or take on a team of lawyers from another firm. There are no plans currently in the pipeline to do this though.

Exploring options
Ince is also exploring a range of other ideas that may allow it to grow and service its clients better, including launching a consultancy service, as firms such as Eversheds and DWF have done.

"It is probably best done through some kind of consultancy vehicle, something else that is an ABS structure, certainly the board has asked a group of people to look at what clients want in their sectors," he said.

In the short term he's less bullish. When asked about what level of financial performance he expects to see in 2015-16 he says the firm's revenue should be "stable". However, he adds: "When you are in transition, the problem is you set a budget knowing what you have got, but as you are transitioning in and out [of markets], the picture changes so there is even less certainty."

He says he envisages growth coming from the Chinese market, the Middle East and the aviation sector over the coming years.

One move that is likely to help the firm is its move to new offices in March (pictured above), from its current base in St Katharine's Docks to a smaller space, almost half the size, in Aldgate Tower in the City. But he doesn't see this as a downsizing exercise.

"At one point in time we had 60,000 sqft, 20,000 we never needed we just allowed ourselves to expand. Realistically we are going down from 45,000 sq ft to 35,000, that is what we have operated in this building for a while now," he says.

According to Heuvels, the new office is all part of a drive to modernise the firm. It will provide Ince's lawyers with, "collaborative environments, open plan, team work, communication and fantastic technology to back them up".

Heuvels appears confident in the strength of the firm and assured that its new strategy will put it back on  a path to growth. "If we achieve what we set out to do I think everyone will be happy," he concludes.