At the time of the near-unanimous ‘yes’ vote to merge with Reed Smith in June 2006, the Richards Butler board was well experienced in dealing with diverse management challenges. Strategic business planning and analysis, client development and brand differentiation – you name it, we had done it. In contrast, the board went into the merger with little practical experience of the challenges, both organisational and cultural, of successfully integrating two large international businesses. Now, more than a year after the vote, eight months into the formal merger and with the benefits of the combination being realised, it is clear that early steps taken by the constituent firms have been critical to the success of the merger. These steps are considered below.
Get senior management involved
