references
Functions & Sectors
UP-TO-DATE
Marilí Cuello (Lic&MD 08) Senior Associate of Real Estate Law at Garrigues Abogados y Asesores Tributarios
“One of the challenges of the future is attracting new clients, especially international clients, making it necessary to know market needs. Therefore, it is essential to have, among our professionals with international profiles, individuals with a high knowledge of languages and who know the main features of the legal systems of other countries. Also, other challenges of the future efficiency of the services provided”.
Josep M. Ortadó (Lic&MD 99, Intensive Management for Lawyers 11) M&O Abogados
“In our view, the main challenge is the internationalisation of firms and how they adapt to the fact that more and more clients have their main activities abroad. M&O Abogados has always had a very international focus. International taxation and international corporate operations are our speciality, so our professionals are specialists in the areas of law that affect foreign investment in Spain, as well as Spanish vehicles for investing in other countries”.
Clearly, synergies and cross-selling generated between auditors and other professional service providers for businesses have been and continue to be very important. However, according to Jesús Romero, the times dictate that protection of audit service independence is going in the exact opposite direction: “The investor wants to be confident in a company's financial information, which means greater objectivity and independence on the part of audit firms is required, and their performance can not be affected by interference from other services. The EU Directive governing auditing activity in relation to listed companies and certain institutions of public importance, such as banks or insurance companies, among others, prohibits auditing firms from providing tax and legal services on a general scale from mid-2016, a situation that will generate new opportunities in the market,” he says. Jorge Adell, managing partner at Baker & Mckenzie, adds that it is the responsibility of law firms to defend their clients in every way possible, and the duty of auditors is not to defend the client, but to perform objective audits.
tive advantage and it can have a direct impact on our reputation and the generation of business,” explains Javier Mourelo (AMP 11), Director of Talent at Clifford Chance. “Quality marketing (although scarce) is vital in a sector where it is not easy to learn about competitor practices and criteria. Also, the attitudes and ‘permeability’ of lawyers in relation to marketing are increasingly being developed and assessed,” says Jordi Farrés (Master DIN 06), corporate lawyer at Pérez Llorca. For Josep Camí, proposal presentations for legal services have grown from a mere description of services, equipment and fees, to look more and more like something from the world of business consulting: commercially describing the service to be provided, as well as the methodological approach used to carry it out, as it tries to explain the value proposition offered. Jorge Adell adds that “client loyalty is one of our challenges; we believe and are committed to having a defined and consistent marketing strategy, as well as measuring tools to help us build and maintain the trust of our current and future clients”. Also, new technologies and social media presence can help foster the law firm brand through different communication strategies. Organising seminars or events and publishing articles are ways to get noticed. For Ramón Gil, in this respect, communication must be in line with the business and contribute to the business. That is why every office, depending on their strategy and positioning, will develop communicative actions or other measures to protect its reputation. A key aspect to understand is that communication is a transversal area for the entire firm and it must be adapted to its public without losing sight of the message being transmitted.
Marketing