Bill Shelford, Senior Partner of City law firm Cameron McKenna, reviews the two years of post merger integration and development
Looking back now at the merger between Cameron Markby Hewitt and McKennas, what do you feel stands out by way of achievements?
It was good to receive the latest award from Legal Business of law firm of the year, in addition to other awards. This is on the back of breakthrough in providing advice in California and our growth in central Europe. This shows that the planning for the merger was right and that the outcome was even better than we expected. We have a clear edge in utilities, life sciences, product liability, insolvency, biotechnology, real estate, and project finance out of London and overseas. We now have ambitions to be one of the few top recognised international law firms.
At the time of the merger, what were the issues you had to consider?
Mergers among professional firms bring anxieties. These range from feelings that the way each component firm organises its work is better, through to an unwillingness to trust people who hold appointments and an examination of all their decisions with a magnifying glass. The problems took twelve months or so to go away. There was a great urgency to get into one building, and then as soon as we got the surrender from an existing tenant, we were able to give the building a complete new identity with sufficient meeting rooms, a new restaurant and enlarged library.
What were your other initial priorities?
We wanted to scramble the eggs at once, set up practice groups and encourage staff to get to know each other. The partnership council appointed leaders for each of these practice groups who had responsibility for developing precedents and information flow. Two staff committees acted as sounding boards and a couple of integration working parties were also essential. We needed to achieve a kind of political balance between the two component firms, examine everything from scratch and be aware of best practice. For example, the appraisal process has been developed, using the best of both previous systems, and we had an initial moderation process to ensure consistency. There is also an annual partner review process that we got going after a short delay.
And initial problems?
One of the more difficult areas was communication, and all practice groups have been away for weekends to consider priorities. We also initially lost a lot of fee-earners, not least because headhunters were fishing. However, the situation has settled down, and we are developing successful recruitment strategies to bring in a strong graduate intake. We haven't quite cracked the communication issue, and we combine a series of different initiatives including information from the Centre and latest deal updates. But we need to do more.
Were there any challenges that were more than you expected?
Information Technology system integration was a major challenge and probably more of a problem than we anticipated. It required an effective international email process, good time recording, software to allow international laptop connectivity, and a huge training exercise. It is essential that your technology helps and does not impede your fee-earners and that you can try to measure the return on investment.
How are reward practices changing?
We are beginning to look at different ways of rewarding people. For example, from May this year, the partnership agreement has been amended to allow the distribution of a bonus by a separately elected remuneration committee. At the staff level, we haven't reached a cafeteria system yet but this is a possibility for the future.
What advice would you give firms contemplating mergers?
The key is the planning beforehand to ensure there is a proper business fit. Then make sure you carry out all your due diligence beforehand and take your time to get things right. Staff issues are very sensitive, and you need to communicate and listen to people's concerns.
And the future for CM?
In an industry that is consolidating rapidly, there will be areas of profitability and strength. We see the whole of Europe as a major market, are determined to be multicultural and have no glass ceilings to ensure that we attract and retain local talent. Businesses cannot remain static. They need to grow to thrive.