BLM managing partner Vivienne Williams

"Some of our restructuring has been heavily covered, but the plan is not just about restructuring – it is about improving what we do and improving our delivery to clients," says BLM managing partner Vivienne Williams of what has arguably not been the easiest first year in the job.

Williams, who took over the role last summer, did not come into the position in normal circumstances. Former managing partner Gary Allison had departed just eight months into a three-year term as head of the firm after 23 years with BLM, while the firm also carried out a number of redundancy consultations during 2017.

This was followed by the appointment of a new senior partner in March this year – when Mike Brown was succeeded by Matthew Harrington after six years at the helm – while November last year saw the resignation of London head Jennette Newman.

The job cuts included 21 redundancies in Southampton, with a further 50 secretarial and direct support staff roles cut after a consultation that was launched in June. Throughout the layoffs, Williams says she had a focus on insuring that BLM managed the process effectively.

Williams, who was on the project team that oversaw the changes, says the restructuring was a plan devised about two years ago.

"We could see the consolidation and competition in the market, and also new entrants," Williams says. "We could also see that what our clients wanted was changing and so we needed to put ourselves in a position to invest more. There are a lot of positive angles to the restructuring. I am very pleased that we have managed to deliver on that programme we came up with two years ago and improve our profitability.

"Internally, we wanted to make sure that we looked after our people. It is important that you go about restructuring in the right way, and so my concern was more that the coverage would create concern and anxiety internally, and managing that was the most important thing," she says.

It was a bit of a surprise when Gary decided to hang up his boots, but we have moved on

"We always want to avoid that route, so we put a lot of effort into developing skills and helping people diversify in the business. It was important to us that we try and evolve our people."

In terms of stepping into the managing partner role after Allison's resignation, Williams says the transition was relatively smooth, given her background in managerial roles at the firm.

"I did not have a significant amount of notice, but I was able to walk straight into it because of what I was doing. I have been on our executive team for a while and I was already managing two thirds of the business before I took on this role," she says.

"I was a visible person in the firm and I started here as a trainee so I am very well known among partners and staff. It was a bit of a surprise when Gary decided to hang up his boots, but we have moved on."

Having moved on, Williams is positive about the firm's future, citing the successful delivery of BLM's 'business improvement' projects and improved profitability.

"I would expect us to continue growth in commercial advisory and adding to the hires that we have made there. We also want to continue to improve how we work with our global network.

"Our premises are also on the agenda. We want to make further improvements to the environment in which people work and [we] are looking at agile working, because that is what our colleagues want." Also on Williams' radar will be boosting the firm's engagement with legal technology, especially in relation to analytics and artificial intelligence, which she describes as a "key priority".

Asked about the future of the insurance market, she says consolidation will become more and more widespread. "We are seeing consolidation around clients, so inevitably it is going to be competitive. There is also uncertainty in the market, given the ongoing reforms to insurance law and what is happening politically with Brexit.

"Any firm has to be looking to the future and what might be coming down the track."