Global annual report
that the immediate impact will be
adverse for business. “There will be
a freeze on investment decisions,”
he adds. Another partner at a Lisbon
firm comments: “There is huge risk
here [associated with Brexit] and
uncertainty creates a market for
lawyers.” However, there is a view
that any gain made by law firms
by winning Brexit-related advisory
work will be overshadowed by the
loss of transactional work.
Another hypothesis put forward
by one partner is that Brexit could
mean that UK firms would not have
access to the European market and
vice versa. He adds: “Would a UK
court decision be enforceable in a
European jurisdiction? Maybe not
anymore.” In addition, one partner
remarks that, depending on the
final terms of Brexit, Chinese and
US banks with their European
headquarters in London may not be
able to provide services in Europe.
The partner continues: “London
as a financial centre is dependent
on the single market; banks in
the UK not given access to the
single market will refocus their
operations on Paris and Frankfurt.”
He adds that Europe should take
the opportunity to “push for
greater integration, for example by
implementing a single employment
insurance, for example”. The
uncertainty surrounding Brexit
is the most damaging aspect,
according to MLGTS partner
Tiago Félix da Costa. “The biggest
problem is not knowing what the
future holds,” he says. However,
Félix da Costa adds that, despite
the uncertainty, firms need to
continue with their international
expansion. “Stopping growth
abroad is not an option,” he says.
A number of leading Portuguese
firms say that 2015 was their “best
year ever”, but Rosa Ferreira says
that law firms need to prepare
for the future. He adds that his
law firm took the decision to
expand internationally when
the Portuguese economy began
struggling due to the crisis. He
adds: “Large law firms in Portugal
are close to their peak in terms
of how they can grow.” As one
partner puts it: “I don’t believe in
indefinite growth, law firms now
need to be prepared for doing
business in mature markets.”
The biggest challenge facing
Portuguese law firms in the
coming years will be profitability,
claims one partner at a Lisbon
law firm. He adds: “Clifford
Chance, for example, used to
be the largest law firm in the
world, but it’s changed its focus
from scale to profitability – that
change will come to Portugal.
The mid-market will be in a
difficult situation: specialisation
will be key and clients will want
solutions to specific problems
and specific issues.”
Consistency in service provision is crucial
João Afonso Fialho
It is vital that clients receive the same
level of service from their legal advisers
regardless of the jurisdiction in which
they are working, says João Afonso Fialho,
partner at Vieira de Almeida in Lisbon.
“In a global world, you cannot say to
a client that you are just a local firm,” he
adds. “The best clients are global and so
lawyers should be.” Consequently, Afonso
Fialho says that, along with replicating
knowledge and know-how in different
jurisdictions, law firms need to ensure
that, regardless of geography, clients’
service expectations are met.
“There is no such thing as a patient
client,” he says. “The meaning of time
may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction,
but clients’ conception of time is usually
unchangeable – that’s why effective and
timely delivery of service is not only
a challenge, it is probably the biggest
challenge.” Afonso Fialho adds: “Clients
expect to take their relationship with
you everywhere they go – what used to
36 • IBERIAN LAWYER • July / August 2016
be preliminary advice on projects or
operations is now long-term, permanent
and detailed counselling.”
As a result, it is important that
law firms put money and effort into
ensuring they have the capacity to
provide a seamless service to clients
regardless of the jurisdiction, says
Afonso Fialho. “Distinct environments
call for different solutions but with
a common denominator, that being,
adopting the same best international
practices and principles,” he explains.
But while using the appropriate IT
and adopting uniform processes – in
addition to investing in team building
and training – go some way towards
meeting client expectations, Afonso
Fialho says one of the key requirements
is giving service delivery the level of
priority it deserves. He continues: “If
mitigating professional risk is a fulltime job in an international practice, the
same should apply to delivery.”
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