Any law firm manager elected or re-elected in the middle of the last decade probably faced a similar dilemma to Clifford Chance’s David Childs: voted in during a boom, these leaders found their roles re-cast as the economy took a dramatic turn for the worse.
As many managing partners over recent years will attest, leading a firm through a downturn is certainly a test of mettle, forcing them to take hard decisions about resources and costs that were more easily swept under the carpet during the more forgiving reigns of their predecessors.
