The Globalisation of the Business of English law

A lecture by Stuart Popham from 16th March 2011 at the LSE It is available as an mp3 for download He was the senior partner of Clifford Chance. He quotes David Mellor's comparison of lawyers and rhinoceroses: “thick skinned, short-sighted and always ready to charge”.

He started his professional life in Clifford Turner which merged with Coward Chance in 1987. Originally he had intended to become a banker. He describes some interesting early experiences: investigating the root of title of 225 petrol stations, serving a writ on a man who came to the front door naked.

The world was quite different in 1976
Draft documents were typed with comments in red, green blue – it took three days for a document to get from one lawyer to another.

How the new environment has been created
The term “service economy” only appeared some time in the 1980s. Law firms started to run themselves more like businesses. Popham compares law firms with hotels: The lawyers themselves are like guests – they should have experts running things like housekeeping – accounts and IT experts. Clients can enjoy the comfort of the hotel, which should be a place well suited to allowing lawyers to demonstrate their professional skills.

Is Law a business or a profession?
From 1983 solicitors were allowed to advertise. In recent years management of service firms is a matter of study in business schools. He makes reference here to the Chatham House Rule.

benefits of the English system
English language and the independence of the judiciary in the UK are advantages. Because of the growth international trade centred around London with services connected with shipping and insurance. Rules spread to commonwealth countries. Four of the worlds six largest law firms are based in London. Countries with common law are likely also to have politicians and managers with a training in British law. The New York Bar requires only 3 months cramming for the exam. Which makes it attractive to lawyers from many parts of the world. Much quicker than qualifying as a UK lawyer.

what will lawyers of the future need to do?
Lawyers need to be adaptable, The subject matter is portable, in the sense that legal work can be done by someone in another place. There will be more and faster change. Communication – expressing yourself is critical. Project management and quality control become increasingly important as lawyers work in larger teams. Other multi-disciplinary qualities: knowledge of the clients' business and IT skills. Cultural understanding.

What are the opportunities of the future
Increasingly, they will lie to the east and south (looking from London), especially in China. He uses terminal three of Beijing airport as an example of the dynamism in other parts of the world: The professional services for investment and construction for the airport came in large part from the UK. Even British land purchases now often have an international element. There is an opportunity for British lawyers. Asia and South America/ natural resources “tend to be found in places where the legal systems are often not as well developed”. Law is creating unions of countries and international courts – more problems are resolved by lawyers and less by military forces.

what are the challenges of the future
He quotes an amusing argument between the comedians the Marx brothers and the film company Warner brothers

The main challenge at present is that lawyers have to prove that they are good value for money. The problem with billing by time is that, from the clients' point of view, there seems to be no incentive to work faster. Some lawyer's work could be done by lower skilled staff or computers. In this sense it may be the last “unreconstructed” profession in the world – many things are still being done the same way as they have been since “time immemorial”. Some of today's established law firms are likely to lose their position. In the period 1929 – 1939 7 new firms appeared in the New York top ten. Those 7 are still in top 15 in New York today. Probably Chinese and Indian firms are likely to appear in future decades.

words of wisdom
Lawyers are privileged with education – but it is important to remember they are serving the public.

Questions
the skill of drafting documents is a transferable one.

Common law is sometimes uncertain. The approach assists certainty. The judges are independent and try to deliver what the parties intended rather than imposing their interpretation on a document.

Governments, the Law Society and other bodies should promote the British legal system. Legal services are related to financial services which have been criticised in recent years but they have better prospects than manufacturing as a growing part of the UK economy.

How to expand into other countries? Probably associating with locals.

What will top law schools in 30 years time look like? The educational process should train people for employment. They need to work more closely with the profession.

Should regulations come back into financial services? Leaders of the industry do not want to be seen as a risk to the public.

What is the secret of the success of English law as an export product?The universality of the English language helps a lot.

related links
English law week in Moscow