We selected around 10 but there are now about five that are used consistently. They have shown they are people we can trust and work with as well as being good. We would choose a firm and then we would find the individual within the firm and work at the relationship. If one did not develop then that firm would probably be quietly dropped. Michael Oliver, head of legal at Boots, says that the interaction between people is often the most important element in working with external lawyers.
Most law firms are a collection of lawyers.
I am sure that initially we have a relationship with one person but as your needs spread so do your relationships. But the relationship is with the individual. It is about people and the people that make up firms. For this reason, many of the firms he instructs have been working with the group for several years - the company has used Slaughter and May for 13 years. The people have changed over time, people retire and new partners have been appointed.