Last autumn, the traditionally conservative firm Rowe & Maw announced a spectacular coup.

When corporate rainmaker Peter Maher and two other star partners from the same department, Peter Dickinson and Andrew Copley, announced they were leaving to join Clifford Chance, Rowe & Maw’s response was to change the equity system to reflect individual partner performance, restructure the corporate department putting Maher in charge, and install the three rebels on the corporate board.