But I do admit that because smaller firms are more concentrated it is easier to get hold of someone. But she says she has also used 36-partner Gouldens as well as the larger corporate practices. I have used Gouldens in one corporate transaction. I used it because I was told it would be cheaper. I hope it is.
Cost is a major area on which mid-size firms feel they are attractive to clients.
But Rodney Smyth, a solicitor at asset management company Invesco, whose smallest outside legal adviser is Ashurst Morris Crisp, feels that mid-size firms do not compete on cost because their partners lead teams, meaning the overall fees are not lower. Bigger firms are more flexible, broader, more effective and manage to match the level of service you want with the right person. We do not always want a partner working on things. But it would be hard to deny that lower overheads mean mid-size firms are capable of offering better value for money. For many it may be just a matter of altering strategies to ensure the right level of lawyer advises on particular issues.