36 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
APRIL/MAY 2017
Punching
SOME BIG FIRMS ARE GETTING
BIGGER TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIES
OF SCALE AND EXPAND THEIR GLOBAL
REACH. AS COMPETITION HEATS UP,
BOUTIQUES AND SPECIALTY FIRMS
ARE PLAYING TO NEW STRENGTHS
BY SANDRA RUBIN
THE LEGAL MARKET
is getting rough. "It's Darwinian," says Peter
Griffin, managing partner of Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP in
Toronto. Blame it on any number of factors: the increased presence of US-
based law firms in dealmaking; the erosion of senior relationships in favour
of the request for proposal (RFP); general counsel being pressured by finance
and procurement to cut legal spend; the commoditization of several areas of
law or new legal technology.
e result is that larger firms are shiing their business models. ey are
tailoring their processes to the deal mandates that are available in Canada —
oen mid-market domestic acquisitions or working with firms based in the
United States on multinational deals. While it is difficult to compare large
and small firms without breaking down their practice areas, on an overall
level, boutiques are finding their own routes to continued success, with
models that work for them.
Small and focused, it turns out, might be a Darwinian answer to survival
for boutiques.
Above Weight
FEATURE
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
