Overy has been present in Luxembourg for 20 years now. Managing Partner Henri Wagner discusses the firm’s development in that time, and ambitions for the coming years.
“We started in 1990 as a small firm of four lawyers, and had our premises in a private mansion in Belair, where a bathroom was refurbished into an office space,” smiles Allen & Overy’s Managing Partner for Luxembourg, Henri Wagner. Looking at the firm’s premises in Kirchberg serves to reinforce the point that they have developed significantly and quickly over the past two decades. Wagner highlights several key stages in the company’s development along the road to becoming what it is today. “In 1993 we were approached by what was then the largest continental European law firm, Loeff Claeys Verbeke. These guys were dominant in the Netherlands and Belgium and thought therefore that it would be a good idea to have a presence in Luxembourg as well. There was a testing phase, and after six months we became the first Luxembourgish firm to merge with an international law firm. In those days, it was relatively difficult in terms of bar regulations, we had a number of obstacles to overcome.”
Leading from the front
The second significant date in the history of the firm in the Grand Duchy was in 2000, when on 1 January, the company became part of Allen & Overy, to become a European giant. “It was a new dimension,” says Wagner. “Allen & Overy was present in almost all of the financial centres around the world and again they brought in a new level of professionalism. We could draw on the prestige associated with the Allen & Overy brand. Our size, in terms of head count and turnover rose sharply, and since then we have been selected as the best law firm in Luxembourg on three occasions in the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) awards, in 2007, 2009 and then this year as well, which is obviously a source of pride.”When he took over as managing partner in 2007, Wagner established a strategic plan he called Vision 2010, which looked “at all the areas in which we operate, the organisation of our departments, whether people work together efficiently, whether there was cross-fertilisation.” Effectively, business services were restructured, while “a credible marketing department was set up. The days when a law firm just did law were clearly over, and marketing support is necessary.”
HR was also restructured in a bid to attract and retain the brightest talent. There are other factors. “Getting this building gave us a new momentum,” insists Wagner. “Once again, it creates pride amongst employees and boosts atmosphere. We were one of the first companies in Luxembourg to have a gym in our building.”More recently, elections in 2010 for senior partner and managing partner saw Marc Feider and Wagner himself re-elected to the aforementioned roles for another two-year mandate. “The follow-up to Vision 2010 is Ambition 2012. The names work in both French and English. We have achieved a lot in the past two years in very trying circumstances. So for the next two years we have to maintain the number one position, which is even more difficult again.”
What does the new plan entail? “We need an increased capacity to make investments in the future, having had to be cautious in the past two years,” explains Wagner. “We will be investing in key areas: know-how, because clients now want more for less (costs). We have to deal with this, and efficiency must improve. We will continue investing in our people and training them, both here in Luxembourg and in London, where we have what we call ‘The University of Banking’. People are trained in specific aspects of law, and get up to speed with skills they’ll require here in Luxembourg.”
As a third area of focus, Wagner stresses the importance of business development. “It is a fact that you make about 50% of your turnover from 10% of your clients. We have to focus on those key clients and get closer to them by setting up client relation teams, headed up by partners. The firm needs to achieve the status of trusted advisor.”
The challenges to be faced over the next two years involve increased pressure on fees, Wagner believes. “About half of invoices are challenged now, people ask for delays in payment. Five years ago, this would have been one in a hundred.” Competition will also increase, something Wagner claims to welcome, while Luxembourg has to explore niches. “Allen & Overy can brainstorm with people who want to come here on how best to manage their business and make their lives easier. It’s about more than law. We have to show we care, and be first movers in these new niches.”