This article , co-authored by Ed Wemann and Nick Jarrett-Kerr takes a look at possible structures for international mergers

If the ingredients are carefully chosen and the right questions are asked, the formulation or drafting of the plan becomes straightforward. The key is to frame objectives which are aligned to give the best chances of future success – marketing, branding and general business development and client-focussed goals, efficiency and business process improvement goals and objectives for skills-building as well as sensible but stretching financial targets.

Many law firms may be considering merger as an option in response to increased competition in the marketplace, but the process is never simple. Nick explains how to assuage partners’ fears and make a merger work for you.

Law firm partners and leaders ought to have some plans to cope with some of the obstacles to their projects and the implementation of them which could occur along the way. Anticipating such barriers can often lead to them being headed off. Nick considers some of the main obstacles to change in law firms and sets out six communication and implementation steps which should be applied in any change programme.

Law firms sometimes tend to spend a huge amount of time in agreeing their strategies and then proceed to implement them in a haphazard and arbitrary manner, often biting off far more than they can immediately chew. The result can often be an increasing list of half-completed and abandoned initiatives, and a frustrated partnership. . In this article, Nick sets out ways in which a firm can juggle its priorities and resources to implement strategic projects in an ordered and methodological manner.

This article studies how law firms can link competitive strategy with effective implementation, and suggests how the Managing Partner and Top Management Team can perform their roles as promoters of strategy, sponsors of strategic initiatives, coordinators of process improvements and motivators of others.

Implementing strategic goals can sometimes be a painful process. In this article (Nick examines how a combination of effective leadership, structure, systems and discipline can help law firms to realise their development goals and avoid the obstacles preventing the proper execution of strategy.