Just a few years ago I would've been labelled eccentric by the wider world and a liability by my own partners. He said polygamy benefited both sides of a legal relationship but warned clients would see through a skin-deep commitment. To make a relationship work, he said, required a rethink of structure and service provision. Traditional relationships, whereby law firms provide all or most of the services to a client, are now the exception rather than the rule, said Harris. Increasingly phrases like 'Horses for courses' or 'A variety of providers' are heard in the legal director's office.
Law firms can add value in a variety of ways.
But Harris said polygamy demanded a new agenda - and that meant a firm sometimes having to work with its competitors. That's not a way of organising a law firm which necessarily benefits clients. What it strives to achieve is the seamless extension of the in-house function. Michael Ball, Weightmans' head of employment, tackled transparency and developing trust as a key element in a businesses choice of firm. He said lawyers tendering for a job had to be aware of a tender document's contents, but also had to identify the culture of the business or law firm.