Source: theHRDIRECTOR
Date: February 2007

Law firm DLA Piper integrated 44 personnel from competitor Denton Wilde Sapte, the largest lateral hire in UK legal history to date. Its experience demonstrates how clear communication at all stages of the integration process is key to a successful outcome.

Lateral hires of one or two partners are a regular occurrence in the legal sector. But the decision by DLA Piper to integrate some 44 partners, solicitors and secretaries from the Technology, Media and telecommunications (TMT) team of competitor firm Denton Wilde Sapte into its workforce was quite another matter. The merger presented a multitude of challenges but has produced the largest single entity across the European and Asian offices of the firm (when judged by practice area within a single location).

The prime motivation behind the integration was to expand DLA Piper’s scope and develop its client base, particularly in the media and entertainment industries. It was known that individual partners within the DWS TMT team were considering moving on from the organisation. DLA Piper felt well placed to capitalise on the situation, offering a ‘win-win’ opportunity for both parties: DWS TMT teams could move into a new organisation en masse and DLA Piper would gain the expertise it was looking for.

The early stages of the process involved thorough discussion between partners who were to move from DWS and senior management at DLA, establishing a three-pronged approach that would cover people, client and financial issues, all of which would be challenging areas to navigate through during the integration. Furthermore, three critical phases of the process were highlighted: before the move, the arrival and longer term.

“the absolute necessity for clear communication”

A unifying feature of all early decision-making was the absolute necessity for clear communication – both verbal and written – across both companies. Nancy Furness, national human resources manager at DLA, explains further: “It was essential to emphasise the positive nature of the move for both the existing team and the lateral hires; both teams would benefit from this change and that message had to be reinforced. One of our biggest challenges was the number of individuals involved in the hire and the range of job functions they held, from senior partners to trainees and support staff. Getting everything right for everyone required precise planning and a great deal of communication both in person and writing.”

A particularly complex challenge was presented to the transferring DWS partners: how to ensure their teams emerged intact and unified in the understanding that a move to DLA Piper would benefit them and their future careers. Clear, thorough and honest explanations of partners’ motivations behind the move were vital in securing the trust of their team members. Meanwhile, DLA Piper prepared to sell itself to wavering DWS
team members while ensuring a stringent interview process was maintained. This carefully tuned process had to establish that potential employees were absolutely committed to joining DLA Piper and were not coming solely because they felt they had to follow their partners. The balance was to sell DLA Piper to them at the same time.

“being treated as individuals with opinions on company structure”

But DLA Piper realised that other channels of two-way communication were necessary to head-off the concerns and fears of existing DLA Piper staff as early as possible. It can often be perceived by long-term staff that
incoming employees are like an ‘invading army’, particularly when there are so many of them. There is the genuine concern about extra competition at a particular level of qualification and a notion that long-standing members of staff are ‘being replaced’ by the newcomers. Once more, head-on communication with staff at all levels was implemented to tackle any concerns and explain the positives that would come out of the merger, such as the opportunity to work in a far more wide-ranging department. Question and answer sessions and informal team meetings were held to ensure staff on both sides felt they were being listened to, were involved in the integration process and were being treated as individuals with opinions on company structure rather than simply faceless employees.

From a client perspective, all affected parties were kept fully informed of the changes to company structure and provided with the appropriate literature and communication to answer their queries.

“an office ambience that was welcoming to new staff”

The next phase of the integration took into account geographical concerns and the need to create an office ambience that was welcoming to new staff but which felt efficient and business-like. Again, clear  communication with staff made sure everyone knew where they would be sitting ahead of the move, and any concerns about the new team structures and seating arrangements were dealt with at that stage. As Paul Pattinson, partner at DLA Piper and a key individual involved in the integration, explains: “I was conscious that the first impressions of the new arrivals was absolutely critical. If there were any doubts left in people’s minds as to the wisdom of having moved – and this was particularly at nonpartner level – and things went wrong in the first few days, those problems would only add to those doubts, increase cynicism and encourage people to take a step back from full involvement.”

All PCs and telephones were thoroughly tested ahead of the new intake of staff and floorwalkers were tasked with providing systems support to newcomers in the few days following their arrival. A more thorough induction into the systems of the firm took place for several weeks afterwards.

“a carefully constructed long-term strategy secured a successful outcome”

When the ‘physical’ element of the merger was complete, DLA Piper’s longer term working strategies started to come into action. The next challenge was to integrate the two companies’ knowledge bases; there were entire new areas of speciality which were unfamiliar to DLA Piper, and  there were aspects of the existing DLA Piper TMC practice which needed explaining to the new arrivals. And, of course, there were new clients unfamiliar to both sides. On a personnel level, DLA allowed some leeway for a ‘bedding in’ period, during which time staff were afforded the space to get to know each other a little better and learn about each other’s working practices. Importantly, partners shared projects with solicitors they had not worked with before. The area of leadership was one with the potential to prove contentious amongst staff, so it was vital that
group heads were seen to work closely and well together. With group heads represented by both DLA Piper and DWS, all team members felt assured that they had an easy route to follow to air any views and problems. DLA Piper’s carefully constructed long-term strategy secured a successful outcome. Just one fee-earner left the group in the year following the merger, more than 95% of the clients for whom DWS staff acted came with them, and at the end of the first short financial year the combined group had hit 105% of its target.

As Furness concludes: “We learnt a lot from this experience. Our emphasis on ‘one new team’ from the day the new hires arrived was critical and has undoubtedly helped the new TMC Group to flourish.”