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How DLA Piper is positioning itself in a competitive market
As the legal landscape becomes increasingly competitive and complex, two partners at a BigLaw firm share the strategies they have implemented to overcome such challenges effectively.
Grace Robbie
Speaking on a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Amber Matthews, managing partner for DLA Piper in Australia, and Shane Bilardi, a corporate partner at DLA Piper who is poised to succeed Matthews in her role, revealed that one of the primary challenges BigLaw firms such as DLA Piper will need to overcome this year is staying competitive in an increasingly competitive legal environment.
Bilardi explained that the competitive issue is not new to the legal profession; instead, it is a longstanding concern that is unlikely to be resolved easily in the foreseeable future.
“The challenging and competitive time [is the biggest hurdle]. But to some degree, I feel like that’s been a constant [issue] in our industry now for quite a while and will remain a constant one that we’ve got to embrace that it’s always going to be,” Bilardi said.
He emphasised that this pressure is particularly acute in Australia, where change and competition are heavily layered within its legal market.
“There’s always going to be change, and it’s going to be a very intensely competitive market, and [for] Australia, perhaps even more so.
“We feel that, like some of the other markets, it’s a very heavily layered market. We have people who are exceptionally well trained, who work very hard, and [who] are attractive to our offshore peers. So we also feel the talent drain [which] makes it a very competitive market,” Bilardi said.
In response to these challenges, Bilardi shared how DLA Piper plans to focus more deliberately on its core strengths to maximise market opportunities.
“We embrace the challenge. For us, how we [are] going to [overcome] that and sort us on this path, and we intend to be very focused on what we think are our strengths and the better opportunities in the market for a firm,” Bilardi said.
Bilardi revealed that the firm’s new managing partner, Charles Severs, has encapsulated this philosophy with the mantra “doing less better”, with the approach emphasising the importance of focusing on areas where the firm can excel and “be the best in the market”.
Matthews echoed this sentiment, indicating that the firm is dedicated to maintaining its status as a full-service global law firm. However, it recognises the necessity of distinguishing itself within the legal market’s competitive landscape.
“We want to make sure that the market knows what we’re expert in. So, we will still be a full-service global law firm. That is the nature of the business, and we are not intending to change that. But where we need to differentiate is on the things that we can do differently and a bit better,” Matthews said.
