Succession Planning

We were recently approached by a Managing Partner of a Commercial Property Boutique in London.  The firm, although small, work with some of the leading developers in the UK and the Managing Partner had started to consider his options, as at the time, he didn’t have anyone to succeed him and take over the practice when he retired.

Upon initial discussions, the Managing Partner felt his best option was to merge with a larger practice allowing them to absorb his client base and therefore facilitating his own personal wind-down over time.  However, after meeting him, it soon became apparent that he felt this was his only option as he was unable to find good development lawyers and seniors to join him as the skill set was only available at the top 60 Law Firms in The UK. 

The Managing Partner himself had come from a Top City law firm and had been struggling to recruit.  He also wanted to maintain his culture, creative way of working and focus more on a business development role to enable him to grow his client base further, something that was highly achievable with the right support in place given his existing client base and reputation.  After exploring all options, including taking his business to the market and approaching larger firms, he felt that he would try one more time to expand his team before merging. 

Apex Professional Search were retained to help find a team specialising in Residential and Commercial Development work for the practice.  Within three months, we had found a Development Partner, who we managed to entice from one of the Top City Law firms. Due to our understanding of the firm and the opportunity itself, we were able to communicate a very strong case as to why a move to this smaller firm would significantly enhance his career trajectory.  Within three months of the candidate joining, we also sourced a Senior Associate from a Top 60 Law firm and a junior who was impressed by the quality of work on offer.