Independent legal consultancy 3Kites in June welcomed two senior new joiners: Malcolm Dickinson and Vivienne Williams, who have both been law firm managing partners and who will be helping law firms with their strategy, particularly as we see a rise in mergers.
Williams (pictured above) was managing partner at BLM for many years and was in the seat for the planning and preparation of its merger with Clyde and Co. She has since been working through the challenges that law firm mergers bring which can affect colleagues, clients and technology.
Dickinson (pictured above) was managing partner at Michelmores for many years before assisting a number of firms and other managing partners with strategy reviews, succession planning and various other initiatives. He joins from Said Al-Shahry & Partners (SASLO) in Oman, where he was CEO, and brings a wealth of experience from running and growing small-medium sized law firms to operating internationally in the GCC and China.
3Kites’ capabilities span strategic planning and implementation, including business analysis and project management as well as change management. They have a heavy emphasis on technology selection and implementation. Speaking to Legal IT Insider, 3Kites founder and director Paul Longhurst (pictured above) said: “For some time now we’ve seen law firm leadership teams – in small to medium-sized firms especially – struggling with all or any of depressed market forces; changing career priorities for lawyers; aging and poorly supported IT systems; new technologies such as the cloud and AI; and the increasing threat of cyber-attacks. This, against a backdrop of downward pressure on rates in many markets, has fuelled a rise in mergers as a way of managing a difficult situation whilst trying to revitalise the partnership.
“Are mergers the answer for your firm or should it consider other strategies instead of, or alongside, this? Viv and Malcolm can help firms to find the right way forward and assist with the execution of their strategies.”