INNOVATIVE LAWYERS 2016 OCTOBER62016 FT.COM/INNOVATIVE-LAWYERS RESEARCH PARTNER SUPPORTEDBY Foreword Innovations abound with Europe in flux INNOVATIVE LAWYERS 2016 This editionofFTInnovativeLawyers, our11th, appears at a OCTOBER 62016 time of upheaval across thecontinent.Two bigconundrumsfor FT.COM/INNOVATIVE-LAWYERS thecitizens, businesses andinstitutionsofEuropewill test the foresightand ingenuityoflegal professionalsfor yearstocome: theaftermath of theUKvoteonJune23toleave theEU, and theintensifyingrefugee andmigrant crisis.Inthismagazine, we show howlawyers arealready innovating to address both (Brexit, page 8; Social Responsibility,page12). Thebusiness worldasseenthrough thelensoflawyers is changing too—new industries andalliancesare erodingthe RESEARCH PARTNER SUPPORTEDBY traditionallines of competitionand separation of sectorsfaster than ever,forcinglawyers to getahead.Lawyers areresponding by creating newtypes of firms,blurring oldboundaries in EDITOR Harriet Arnold search of newsolutions.The individual lawyer,the nature of ASSISTANT EDITOR legaladviceand theway in whichthatadviceisdelivered are Josh Spero undergoing deep change. PRODUCTION EDITOR George Kyriakos In addition,there arenew centresofpower andchangein ART DIRECTOR thelegal industry:millennialsrefusingthe partnershiptrack; Kostya Penkov DESIGNERS technologistsintroducing artificialintelligence; andgeneral Harriet Thorne, Callum Tomsett counselactingasentrepreneurs, rather than just as lawyers. PICTURE EDITORS MichaelCrabtree,AlanKnox Againstthisbackdrop, theFinancial Timesand RSG SUB EDITOR Consulting,which compilethisannualranking,havealso Philip Parrish innovated in theway we organise theresearch andeditorial. We have moved away from thecategoriesusedinprevious FT SPECIALREPORTS EDITOR Leyla Boulton reports, whichfollowedstrict legalpracticelines, to emphasise GLOBAL ADVERTISING DIRECTOR —B2B what users of legalserviceswantand need now. We hopethat RobertGrange GLOBAL CLIENT RELATIONSHIP DIRECTOR ourtableswill helpyou findanswers to your questionsmore StephanieCollier quickly. PUBLISHINGSYSTEMS MANAGER Theresultisasuite of rankingsdesignedtohighlight Andrea Frias-Andrade PROJECT MANAGER lawyers’ innovationsinovercomingchallengesthatinitially NathalieRavier look intractable—untilsomecleverand creative professionals ADVERTISING PRODUCTION DanielMacklin ask: howcan we do things differently? RSGCONSULTING Reena SenGupta, YasminLambert, Lucy Pearson, Alexander Muncey, Victoria Harris, Ethan Carzon LionelBarber Editor,Financial Times 3 Contents Thisyear... LEGAL EXPERTISE INDEX OF TABLES LIQUIDITY407 FT 50: Most Innovative Nowyou can no longer rely LawFirms on banks for business loans, 15 Social Responsibility lawyers are stepping in to develop new forms of 17 NewModels funding for companies large 19 Business Development and small 22 Technology SPEED 44 23 Human Resources We have twocase studies 30 Culture, Brand and highlighting howlawyers cut Strategy through delays —one which 31 Resourcing and could have been as long as 20 48 Efficiency years —for their clients 38 In-house INTRODUCTION 6 TECHNOLOGY20REGULATION 48 42 Securitisation This year represents a Artificial intelligence is Antitrust lawyers have long 43 Strategic Collaborations tipping point as lawyers revolutionising the business been the unglamorous finally face the future. of lawascomputers supplant parties in M&A transactions, 45 Speed and Process Efficiency is no longer adirty humans in tedious tasks. But but clever ways of managing 45 Driving Value word and technology’s large firms are not alwaysthe the regulators are bringing promise is nowbeing leaders when it comes to them to prominence 46 Restructuring and explored on agrand scale lawtech Re-organisation SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT 54 47 Mergers and BREXIT 8 MILLENNIALS 24 We reveal the winner of our Acquisitions Britain’s vote to leave the EU Young lawyers are rejecting award, recognising someone 50 Navigating Regulation looks likeabonanza for law longstanding assumptions whoisusing the lawnot to firms in the short term, but about the legal world: an protect companies or 52 General Legal Expertise the “Brexit bulge”cannot office-based life, unfeasible commerce but the planet 53 NewMarkets and continue forever hours, the partnership track. itself Capital So what do they really want? EUROPE’S BEST10 We map out 10 of mainland PROFILES Europe’smostinnovative firms, from Swedish YOUNG INNOVATORS 26 solicitors to Ukrainian Our rising stars have brought advocates amillennium-old company up to date and used bitcoin to BUSINESS OF LAW avoidcapital controls REFUGEE CRISIS 12 TOPTEN INNOVATIVE The humanitarian disaster INDIVIDUALS 32 on Europe’sborders spurred Reflecting the importance of governments and charities technologytothe legal sector, into action, but little several of our top 10 — attention has been paid to including the overall winner the pro-bono legal work —have been digital leaders supporting the migrants IN-HOUSE NEW MODELS 16 The old distinctions are GENERAL COUNSEL 37 breaking down: now In-house lawyers resemble solicitors, barristers, entrepreneurs as much as investigators and arbitrators solicitors these days,driving are forming radically their businesses forward 40 different lawfirms with their owninnovations 5 Introduction Tipping point Lawfirms are finally converts to the cause of technology, and clients are benefiting. By ReenaSenGupta his year’s FT organisation and the wayits InnovativeLawyers lawyers think about their report reveals a work and clients. “The work Tprofession that has is less about using big armies reached atipping point: of lawyers and more about its lawyers in the design other professionals whohave lawyers have embraced taking advantage of legal process alongside tech experts different ways of working. developing their own technologies and other when developing DWFDraft, Microsoft’soutsourcing of its technology, such as artificial innovations to be more acontract-writing and non-routine procurement intelligence, and realised that efficient,”saysLaurence management product for contracts work to Addleshaw becoming efficient is not Muscat, Linklaters’headof lawyers and clients. Goddard involves thefirm commoditisingtheir services. business improvement. Business shapes are working closely with a Such changes have been a Some firms can reasonably changing too. Nearly a Seattle-based firm, Davis long time coming. When the claim to be known as digital decade on from the Legal Wright Tremaine. Both firms FT launched this series in lawfirms. Gowling WLG, a Services Act, which allowed work for afixedfee,submit 2006, few big commercial UK-Canadian firm, second in UK lawfirms to diversify into one bill and provide business lawfirmssaw the need to the FT 50 this year,plans to alternativebusiness analytics alongside legal streamline the waythey digitise all its practices. structures (ABSs), lawyer- advice. The firms have had to delivered services. They Lawfirms and in-house entrepreneurs are finally work hard to smooth out the wanted to do things the way legal departments are exploiting the opportunities cultural differences between they had alwaysbeen done. experimenting with “design it affords. New-model UK andUSlaw firms. Today, offering data or thinking”,which encourages businesses such as Fulcrum The need for lawyers to discovery centres, flexible creativeproblem-solving. Chambers and Three Crowns, collaborate extends beyond resourcing or technology Until recently this would whichcombinesolicitors, the business of law. This year’s products to clients has have been anathema to barristers and other report shows complex become widespread. The lawyers as it involves starting professionals to service a business challenges, legal innovation lies in how small, taking products to particular legal area, are requiring the services of firms adopt these methods market that are not fully emerging. Media boutique different private practice and adapt to them —withan formed, making mistakes Schillings has used its ABS specialists, other professional emphasis on an integrated, quickly and learning from licence to become aprivacy disciplines and, critically,the flexible service. them. Usually,lawyers would and reputation consultancy. in-house legal team. Legal Despite uncertain market aim to release products that Gateley,the first lawfirm to solutions are less purely conditions, lawfirms appear are perfect, but manybelieve list in the UK, says its legal. There are lessons for to be thriving. Forthe top this is no longer an option. first-yearresults were lawyers in the unusual four UK-founded Magic “The days of law firm five-year on-target for its shareholders. strategic alliances, emerging Circle firms by revenues, the plans are moribund,”says Astrong theme to emerge in business and new sectors average increase in turnover Gideon Moore, managing from the research is the such as fintech, whichthey was3.9 percent, bringing partner at Linklaters. importance of collaboration are already supporting. For their income to more than One firm using design —and not just with usersoflegal services, the £1.3bn each, according to the thinking to speed up the colleagues and clients. Some arrayofsuppliers has LawSocietyGazette.Lawyers development and adoption of of the most fruitful joint probably never been more ascribeatleast some of this technologyisDWF.Itinvolved efforts can be with rivals or diverse or innovative. I success to adoption of technology. Linklaters, top of ‘The work is lessabout using big this year’sFT50, has RESEARCH &AWARD SUPPORTEDBY