At the double

The managing and senior partner duo have been sitting at the top of the law firm pyramid since partnerships of all kinds were formalised in the 1890 Partnership Act. Yet having both at the helm today is not a given, with more varied approaches to management than ever in the legal market.

In large, globally dispersed firms it is common to have a leadership team, with a managing partner governing each jurisdiction. An emerging platform firm, meanwhile, may have a leadership board with directors drawn from different industry sectors. Small, local firms often have a managing partner who does extensive fee-earning, but no senior partner.

There is no right or wrong structure – each firm has to find what works. And they are doing so. Solicitors Regulation Authority statistics show that traditional partnerships have shrunk to just 11.2% of the UK legal market. Limited liability partnerships form 15.9%, and the overwhelming majority of law firms – 57% – are incorporated companies.

Despite this influx of new business models, for many global elite firms and those in the mid-to-large bracket, the idea of the two-person management team – the managing partner and senior partner (or chief executive and chief financial officer (CFO) or chief operating officer (COO)) – endures.

‘Comfort blanket’ or essential enabler?

A clear trend in the market is for law firms to mirror the structure of the clients they represent. This has led to some questioning the value of the role of the senior partner, which some strategic law firm advisers view as only useful as a ‘scapegoat’ or a ‘comfort blanket’. The presence of two decision-makers of equal weight presents yet another potential obstacle to change, they say, along with secret ballots and other features of the democratic partnership system.

‘Alternative legal service providers have demonstrated how streamlined management makes it easy to scale up and swiftly implement strategically important decisions,’ says one adviser.

A managing partner is essential, a senior partner is not, so the thinking goes. Why not dispense with the latter altogether?

There is no clear answer to this question, as each firm defines the senior partner role according to its needs. Some senior partners are one step from retirement, serving as firm ambassadors whose purpose is to glad-hand clients and provide a sense of continuity from one generation to the next. Others are active fee-earners and dynamic shapers of the law firm’s culture and strategy.

'Being a managing partner can be a very lonely place. People can feel isolated and crushed by the burden of responsibility upon their shoulders'

Paul Bennett, Bennett Briegal

Scale is of fundamental importance here. When a firm reaches a certain size, the role of the solo managing partner quickly becomes, well, unmanageable. A 2023 survey of managing partners of mid-to-large firms in Germany, Austria and Switzerland published in the International Journal of the Legal Profession identified 15 roles managing partners are required to fulfil. These are: administrator, spokesperson, decision-maker, strategist, connector, meeting chair, implementer, caretaker, preparer, drone (that is, holding a bird’s-eye view of all the firm’s functions), finance expert, performance watchdog, motivator, mediator and appointer. Yet those appointed to these management positions typically have no formal management or business training and pick up these skills on the job.

For firms above a certain size, it makes sense to share the job with another person and take advantage of each other’s skillsets: the senior partner.

Bennett Briegal is a boutique firm that provides specialised legal advice to professionals, law firms and partnerships. Partner Paul Bennett has considerable experience as a mediator to partnerships under stress. ‘Being a managing partner can be a very lonely place,’ he says. ‘People can feel isolated and crushed by the burden of responsibility upon their shoulders. The leadership skills required are a world away from practising as a lawyer. Having a senior partner makes a real difference if used as a sounding board.’

The managing/senior partner dynamic is also venerable, tested and trusted.

‘In a traditional partnership headed by the managing and senior partner, there is a strong sense of ownership, identity and continuity,’ says Peter Taylor, senior partner at south of England firm Paris Smith. ‘All stakeholders know what they are signing up to. Clients like that, and so do funders and insurers.’

How it works – a case study

Camilla Wallace took over as senior partner at City firm Wedlake Bell in January 2024. She maintains her full fee-earning private client practice alongside her senior partner responsibilities, which include a focus on mental health initiatives and wellbeing. She oversees the running of the firm with managing partner and litigator Martin Arnold, who has steered Wedlake Bell since 2012. Wallace sees the overarching purpose of their combined roles as to serve as joint custodians of a business that has existed since 1780, ensuring its survival beyond their tenure.

‘The relationship between managing and senior partner should be yin and yang,’ she says. ‘Each brings their particular skill set to the role and complements the other – enriching the firm as a whole.’

'Your job as a managing and senior partner team is to prioritise the business so that it survives and prospers'

Peter Taylor, senior partner, Paris Smith

With emotional intelligence now considered a key attribute of a leader, it has become rare to encounter two autocratic partners at the top scaring the lives out of the rest of the firm.

A common dynamic is for the managing partner to focus primarily on finance, performance and profits, and the senior partner on shaping culture, driving forward marketing, and building and maintaining client relations.

‘Legacy’ is a word that managing and senior partners use a lot: ‘Legacy is important. When you leave the firm, it should be in a stronger place than when you started,’ says Taylor. ‘Your job as a managing and senior partner team is to prioritise the business so that it survives and prospers.’

Putting in the work

The relationship between the managing and senior partner has been compared to many things: a marriage; a divorced couple striving to put the good of their child (the firm) first; or a stage act for whom the show must go on despite any personal animosity backstage.

‘Lawyers arrive at the position of managing and senior partner in different ways – some are elevated by others, some put themselves forward, some find themselves in this position by default,’ says Bennett. ‘The most important thing is to find a way to work together for the good of the firm. If you happen to like each other, that is a bonus.’

Litigator Taylor has served as senior partner of Paris Smith since 2022. Previously, he was managing partner, a role now fulfilled by family partner Huw Miles.

‘It is important to be very clear about the remit of roles and responsibilities, not just for the managing and senior partner but for each person in the leadership team,’ says Miles. ‘You support and guide each other, but you do not tell other people how to do their job.’

‘First, the two individuals must respect each other and their decisions,’ adds Taylor. ‘Second, they must be prepared to open up – be vulnerable and transparent with the other person. This also means being able to speak up if they think the other is going off-piste, without it damaging the relationship. Lastly, they must have complementary talents – strengths that maybe the other does not have but which dovetail well.’

After putting in the work to build and maintain a productive working relationship, there will be inevitable pinch points along the way.

‘Mergers are a point of stress for partners in leadership positions,’ says Jeff Zindani, managing director at Acquira Professional Services, an M&A broker for law firms. ‘Post-merger business titles can cause more angst than the convergence of financials.’

The impending retirement of the managing or senior partner and the appointment of their successor is another key milestone. This event should ideally be planned years in advance, so work and responsibilities can be migrated. Time and thought should be put into how this leadership shift is communicated internally and externally.

How exclusivity weakens a business

It is a boon when the managing and senior partners actually like each other. But this scenario can cause its own hazards if it all gets too cosy. Care needs to be taken so that the combination does not become an echo chamber that shuts out new ideas from those outside the bubble. Fostering connections in the wider leadership team opens conduits for fresh thinking and encourages honest conversations about what is happening on the ‘shop floor’.

Reaching out to others is also crucial for succession planning. If either the managing or senior partner falls under the proverbial bus, ties have been developed with the pool of potential leadership candidates.

This philosophy of openness can be applied firm-wide. Instead of hunkering down in the office staring at retention rates, walking the office floor can pay dividends.

Miles gave up his desk several years ago. He now spends his time in the office sitting with different legal teams, but also with HR, marketing, compliance, IT and finance. One should not be managing partner if you do not attempt to get to know people, is his philosophy.

‘As management leaders, it is crucial to set the tone and model behaviours that you would like to inculcate in the firm – being calm, respectful and giving people time,’ he says.

As for the dynamic with Taylor, Miles adds: ‘Peter and I have the luck to like each other, but this is not a given in this sort of relationship. The partners choose the leaders of the future. Those leaders must behave in the best way for the business.’

The rise of the ‘non-lawyer’

Law firms are increasingly appointing other professionals to positions of influence, particularly in the platform law firm market. One example is Mezzle, which has a leadership team drawn from disparate industry sectors. With the growth of private equity and alternative funder involvement, the number of non-legal owners steering legal businesses is rising. This development has filtered through to traditional partnerships/LLPs, which acknowledge the value of different perspectives on strategic decision-making. Wedlake Bell, for example, has a non-executive director from a business background on its board.

The rise of adjacent professionals in law firm management highlights a peculiarity of law – its leaders rarely have management experience or have stood in their clients’ shoes to run a business.

A successful managing/senior partner duo will be open to external support. Most will have personal mentors, familiar with the legal profession and the unique strains and stresses that it presents. Business management training and coaching are increasingly essential.

If there are tensions between the senior and managing partner that jeopardise the business, experienced mediators can help the pair find a modus operandi. Informal support includes online networks and social events with partners in similar positions from like-minded firms.

LawCare provides training on mental wellbeing, management and supervision, vicarious trauma and the SRA’s workplace behaviour rules. ‘Reflective’ supervision, focused on how work affects lawyers (separate from ‘case’ supervision focused on the practice of law) is also gaining ground, spearheaded by the family law sector.

The senior and managing partner relationship is intense, and it is no wonder that tensions can bubble over into conflict; or (almost as bad) be so ‘good’ that the firm suffers damaging groupthink and a lack of openness to new ideas. Like a marriage, the alliance needs work, a willingness to self-reflect, communicate effectively and rise above the personal.

 

Katharine Freeland is a freelance journalist