News & Events
FT Innovative Lawyers 2011 film FT Innovative Lawyers Award 25 Oct 2011
The FT and RSG Consulting made a film in 2011 for the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards, held at the Science museum on 5 October 2011. The film recognises some of the innovative work by European lawyers and the boldest law firm initiatives featured in the report. It highlights new ideas and bold thinking which are becoming ever more important as the profession adapts to the changing demands of business.
Please click here if you cannot see the film above.
You can see photos from the event here.
US FT Innovative Lawyers launch event 2 November 2011, Museum of Arts and Design, New York Events 25 Oct 2011
The US FT Innovative Lawyers Report is due to be published on the 3rd of November 2011 and will be launched at an event in New York on the 2nd. This year the report has been expanded to also examine how law firms are innovating as businesses and what in-house legal teams are doing to deliver greater value and drive change in the industry.
Gillian Tett, US Managing Editor of the Financial Times and Reena SenGupta, RSG Consulting’s CEO will be speaking at the event. Integreon, the overall sponsor for the Innovative Lawyers project in Europe and the US will be presenting a special recognition award to the most innovative US law firm in this year’s inaugural FT Law 25 ranking.
White & Case, the sponsor for the US in-house section will also be presenting an award for the most innovative in-house legal team.
If you miss the print version, you will be able to access the full report online at the FT microsite: www.ft.com/usil
FT INNOVATIVE LAWYERS AWARDS Science Museum, 5 October 2011 Events 06 Oct 2011
Last night, the Science Museum was revisited by over 400 lawyers to celebrate the 2011 FT Innovative Lawyers awards. The FT report was published today and distributed to the FT readership in Europe. It is also available online in its own microsite on www.ft.com, in a fully searchable archive which covers the past six years of rankings. Hosting the evening were Lionel Barber, Editor of the FT and Reena SenGupta, CEO of RSG Consulting and the MC for the evening.
The FT Innovative Lawyers reports in the Europe and the US and the FT Innovative Lawyer Awards are produced in partnership Integreon, who are supporting the project for the next three years.
The overall winner of the Most Innovative European Law firm was Allen & Overy; the most innovative non-UK European law firm was Garrigues. Other winners included: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for innovation in finance, Simmons & Simmons for innovation in dispute resolution, Slaughter and May and Garrigues were joint winners in corporate.
The most innovative in-house legal team award went to Nokia. They were tremendously pleased with their recognition and in a show of the close ties that make them such an effective team all came to the stage to accept the award.
The Legal Innovator of the Year went to Richard Tett, a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, who was chosen for his inventive restructuring solutions in various deals over the past three years and credited with transforming restructuring work across Europe.
The Special Achievement Award was presented to Peter Solmssen, General Counsel of Siemens AG for his work implementing a new compliance culture and for promoting corporate integrity and what have been described as ‘cartels of the good’ with other businesses. Mr Solmssen gave the key note address at the event.
Other award winners included:
Anti-Bribery and corruption: Simmons & Simmons and Berwin Leighton Paisner
Efficiency: CMS Cameron McKenna
Client Service: Cuatrecasas Goncalves Pereira
Corporate Strategy: Irwin Mitchell
Legal Industry Pioneers: The Co-operative Legal Services
International expansion: Norton Rose
Emerging Markets: Akin Gump
Lionel Barber, Editor of the FT, Philip Wood, Allen & Overy and Robert Gogel, CEO of Integreon
Philip Wood, Allen & Overy, Accepting for Most Innovative Law Firm 2011
Richard Tett, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Legal Innovator of the Year
Special Achievement Award winner Peter Solmssen, General Counsel, Siemens AG
Joe Simpson, Irwin Mitchell, Innovation in Corporate Strategy
Norton Rose for innovation in International Expansion
Ignacio Corbera, Garrigues, accepting the award for Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe (Outside the UK)
Reena SenGupta, RSG Consulting and Dan Walsh, Akin Gump, winner for Legal Innovation in Emerging Markets
10 years of business News 29 Sep 2011
RSG Consulting celebrates 10 years in business in 2011. In that time, we have watched the profession change. Globalisation, the shift of power to the East, the credit crisis and the ensuing prolonged downturn has both accelerated and created transformation. To match the shifts in the legal market, we launched a project with the Financial Times to look at innovation in the profession in 2006 and launched a report on the Indian legal market in 2008. Behind these verticals, we continue to do research and consultancy across the spectrum of client relationship management, business development and law firm strategy.
One of the best compliments we have had about what we do was one that described us as “anthropologists of lawyers”. Our immersion in the sector continues to fascinate us. The passion is still there 10 years on. With so many new projects on the go – working on the second edition of the US Innovative Lawyers report with the FT is one of them – we may not have time to celebrate. The anniversary was actually on the 1 March. But we hope our work celebrates our clients – law firms and general counsel – in the best way we know how, by showing the best of them through the FT Innovation Awards.
Back in the US of A News 16 Jun 2011
After two weeks of touring four cities, interviews with 25 law firm chairmen and three media briefings, I am finally back in London and reflecting on the trip.
For a journalist and researcher, it is a gift to be able to interview so many senior law firm leaders in such a short space of time. It gives a snapshot as to the current state of the US legal market.
In the main, law firms were far more upbeat than this time last year, with a handful of transactional NY firms saying that fee levels had returned to normal. The majority were more cautious and felt that there was a new paradigm of pressures: the need to be more efficient and to show value. One of the hot topics was the idea of project management with the discussion centring around whether it’s worth teaching lawyers to be project managers or whether it is simply easier – and more effective – to hire in the expertise.
Nearly all the firms put their recoveries down to a slew of work emerging from the energy and tech industries, with a few enjoying the boom in healthcare issues. Emerging markets also are also providing a seemingly endless supply of work.
The 2011 US report will have two new important sections for law firms: one on the business of law and an index of the most innovative law firms in the US. In terms of the legal expertise categories, we can confirm that the corporate section will be broken down into three sub sections which will include general corporate, energy and technology.
