Lawyers might decide they want to step off the linear path and we have to help them to do that

“What we heard was that the old linear way of developing a career at a law firm is fine and there are people who will do that still, but some people want something different. These days, the most important person on the deal might be the person doing the pricing. Some of our big cases have people just as comfortable with spreadsheets as they are legal analysis,” he explains.

Leydecker adds: “Lawyers might decide they want to step off the linear path and we have to help them to do that.”

The pair also plan to oversee the firm more than doubling its legal service capabilities in the next two years.

Rigotti says: “Over the next couple of years, you could see four or five new [legal services centres] across the globe.”

Five-pronged strategy
This focus on people is one part of the firm’s five-pronged new strategy. Each strand has its own workstream led by partners and made up of five to 10 core members, including associates,  as the firm seeks to up the involvement of staff at all levels in its business.

Alongside “people, performance and leadership”, which is led by Scott Cochrane, Jason Ricketts and Helen Anthony, the other strands of the strategy cover: clients, sectors and products led by Geoff McClellan; service delivery led by Patrick St John, Libby Jackson and Richard King; innovation and technology led by Nicole Bamforth, Alan Peckham and Haig Tyler and platform led by Ian Cox, Justin D’Agostino and Sue Gilchrist.

The beyond 2020 strategy has no end point and is not target-led. Instead, HSF has laid out ‘priorities’, one of which includes a focus on nine key sectors: energy; banks; financial buyers; real estate; TMT; infra and transport; mining; consumer products and pharma and healthcare.

On the platform front the focus will be less on new offices – last year HSF launched three new bases, in Johannesburg, Riyadh and Duesseldorf – than on bulking out its existing offering.

The American question
The US remains very much the elephant in the room. HSF opened an office in New York in September 2012 and later hired consultants to look at how to build the practice. 

Leydecker says: “North America remains very important to us and our clients. We are looking to develop our New York offices as you would expect us to. Any bigger strategic piece is more difficult and complex.”

Associates will be involved in all of the workstream groups relating to the new strategy as HSF aims to find the best solutions  - both in terms of technology and strategy –  for today’s problems.

We are looking to develop our New York offices. Any bigger strategic piece is more difficult and complex

Rigotti says: “The answers may come from various places. Associates have said to us, ‘Hey, there’s an app for that,’ for example. We’re not quite sure what all of the answers are, but that’s not a bad thing. It allows lots of people to get involved and come up with a solution.”

Rigotti and Leydecker say that they want the firm to have flexibility and be responsive to what their clients want from them, hence the lack of hard fiscal targets.

One previous target the firm has failed to meet is its ambition to have a partnership that is 25% female by next year.

“Lawyers don’t like not succeeding. I think we’ve made good process – it will just take a bit longer,” concludes Leydecker.