Look at me

Update ... New mega firm likely to give the bar a run for its money ... Herbert Smith Freehills - taking advocacy in-house ... New design and image based around eyesight and perception 

 

WHILE the night sky has been lit with celebrations marking the fusion of Herbert Smith and Freehills, it might be worth contemplating some of the interesting implications. 

In London Herbert Smith, which is not a Magic Circle firm, is widely recognised as an aggressive litigator. 

To that end it has been recruiting directly into the firm members of the London bar.

Murray Rosen QC, Ian Gatt QC and Adam Johnson are three "in-house" barristers working out of Herbert Smith Freehills' London office.

They are listed as dispute resolution partners. 

At one point the Solicitors Regulatory Authority in the Old Dart changed the rules to allow Herbert Smith to assess candidates in its own advocacy courses. 

Some have been unkind enough to observe the arrangement was not entirely devoid of conflicts of interest; i.e. our trainer certifies our advocates. 

Be-that-as-it-may, Herbert Smith's litigation strategy is for its own advocates to conduct proceedings on behalf of the firm's clients. 

The firm's online blurb says:

"Herbert Smith Freehills operates a specialist and fully integrated advocacy unit offering extensive trial, appeal, and interlocutory experience and expertise at exceptional value ... 

Instructing our advocates is speedy and flexible. They work in the same offices as our solicitors, and have a shared culture, training and organisation." 

It's a strategy that has turned parts of the London bar incandescent with fury, particularly as barristers claim to deliver their services more cheaply. 

It is not inconceivable that Herbert Smith could take these dangerous ideas Down Under, and that makes its arrival here particularly exciting. 

*   *   *

THE ex-head of litigation at Herbert Smith is Charles Plant. He was a part of the firm's litigation strategy for 30 years. 

Charles is now head of the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and is a former chairman of the College of Law, one of the big CPD training outfits. 

The College of Law is in the process of being purchased by an equity fund, Montagu Private Equity, in a £200 million deal. 

It has also managed to persuade the authorities that it should be given the status of a university. 

The college will be known as the University of Law, the first for-profit university in the UK. 

All of which is another pointer to the future of legal training in Australia. 

Plant remains a consultant to Herbert Smith Freehills.  

Litigation lawyer, regulator, instructor, mover and shaker. Few are as plugged-in as Charlie. 

*   *   *

AMONG the busiest people associated with a big law firm merger are the designers and image creators. 

It's frustrating work because the concepts have to pass muster with committees of partners and managers. 

Giving the same bunch of lawyers a new "look" can be a daunting challenge for creatives. 

The "global campus" branding work for Herbert Smith Freehills was done by a creative agency in London called SAS. 

The theme of the merged entity is about "being perceptive" - showing "insight, understanding and intuition". 

The firm's new logo of round spokes represents an iris, which connects to the perceptiveness theme. 

SAS came up with four separate positioning lines for HSF, all linked to eyesight and vision: 

Your eyes are everywhere; 

Lawyers who see more;

We see the road ahead;

Do you share our view? 

"Keep your eyes on the road" and "Look at me", must have been ditched during the market testing process. 

Both HS and Freehills have thrown-out their old colour schemes and cheered things up with two colour palettes, "based around aqua and fuchsia".