Lovells, traditionally one of the UK legal scene’s big-hitters, has had a trying time in the last few years, suffering the loss of key partners and this past year announcing a 20% drop in profits and a 3% fall in turnover. So when finance partner David Harris took over as managing partner in 2004, the key planks of his manifesto to turn the firm around were: to improve Lovells’ financial performance and profit margins; to encourage clients to use more of the international network; and to improve client care. Technology will be critical if the firm is to be successful in all three objectives.
Lovells-watchers put a significant portion of the blame for the firm’s relative underperformance on its failure to fully exploit its European network, expensively assembled around the turn of the century through major mergers in France, Germany and the Netherlands, and the development of outposts in Eastern Europe, the US, Southeast Asia, China, Hong Kong and Japan. While Harris says that, in terms of technology and people, the integration of its international network has been successful, he admits the firm still has some way to go before the full benefits of its international empire can find their way to the bottom line.
