ANDERSON Strathern’s new chairman Bruce Farquhar, who takes over from incumbent Robert Carr at the end of this week, is clear on what he wants the firm to achieve during his three-year term: “I’m very keen that we continue our journey to establish a modern, progressive law firm.”
In order to do this, he said, the firm will have to show it is “entrepreneurial, innovative and looking for opportunities that perhaps the traditional law firm model hasn’t embraced”, with technology being a key tool at its disposal.
At a micro level, that means Mr Farquhar is taking a lead when it comes to showing the younger generation of lawyers that the firm endorses the kind of flexible-working practices many Millennials covet but are afraid to ask for.
“I work from home one day a week,” he said. “It’s definitely important that I do it as I have to lead from the front.
“I think it’s an increasingly important part of the package to be able to offer flexibility and improve the work-life balance of our staff.”
At a macro level, technology is allowing the firm to develop an international practice without Mr Farquhar, who as chairman is the firm’s ambassador, having to spend his life on an airplane drumming up trade.
“We’ve spent time in India and have a number of Indian clients and with renewables work we’ve been acting for clients in Germany, Italy and the US,” he said.
“There has been a fair bit of travel over the years but with technology you don’t need to spend the time getting the air miles.”
That said, Mr Farquhar is no stranger to getting out and about to win new business for the firm, having set up Anderson Strathern’s energy team, which he also currently leads.
From a standing start in 2010, the group has, according to the firm’s website, “delivered more than 300 renewable energy development projects for developers”, with wind, solar, biogas and hydro all areas of expertise.
“The firm had a really strong practice acting for rural landowners who were active in offering their land for renewables development but didn’t have much experience acting for the other side with providers and developers,” Mr Farquhar said. “I was tasked with setting that up and we’ve been successful.”
His business development skills were also put to good use when the firm acquired niche construction litigation firm ADLP and private client practice Jeffrey Aitken last year, with Mr Farquhar working alongside Anderson Strathern’s managing partner Murray McCall to bring them on board. This is something he is keen to do more of during his time as chairman.
“The market for consolidation has calmed down recently in terms of activity but I still think there’s more to come,” he said. “We are really interested in bolt-on acquisitions and we’re proactively in the market looking for opportunities just now.”
Mr Carr, meanwhile, who has held the chairmanship at Anderson Strathern for the past 12 years, is continuing to play a role in the firm’s future development by taking the lead on the firm’s newest practice area, an advocacy and legal opinions unit.
As a solicitor-advocate who specialises in personal injury and medical negligence cases, Mr Carr is pulling together a team of six other similarly qualified lawyers who will be able to represent clients in the courts without having to instruct external counsel.
“We’re putting together the existing resource we have across a range of specialisms so there will be less need for clients to seek external assistance through advocates,” Mr Farquhar said.
Looking ahead to his own term in office, Mr Farquhar said one of the biggest challenges he will face is making the firm stand out in a market that continues to suffer from an overabundance of lawyers.
Meanwhile, taking over as he does just as Prime Minister Theresa May fires the starting gun on the Brexit process, Mr Farquhar said constitutional uncertainty will also be a mark of his chairmanship, although just as any modern, progressive firm should he prefers not to see it as an obstacle to growing the business.
“Constitutional uncertainty is affecting everyone just now and we’re having an ongoing dialogue with clients about Brexit and indyref2,” he said. “We’re not sitting back but seeing it as an area of opportunity.”
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