Articles in this report: Reflections on New Zealand; Climate change - more than hot air; The viability of IP; Financial advisors under the spotlight; Duncan Cotterill on international stage (firm profile); Chris Heilbronn Kensington Swan

ALB/Lexis Nexis managing partners series: Chris Heilbronn Kensington Swan: Building bridges

Chris Heilbronn, CEO of Kensington Swan, explains why New Zealand firms have to look beyond Australia for future growth

Chris Heilbronn - bearded, courteous and immaculately turned out - pauses to ponder. The assembled circle of his Kensington Swan team watch eagerly. "I think lately I've been more into alternative rock," he says at last. "My son puts all kinds of tracks on my iPod, so I end up with the full range of musical genres. But Linkin Park's been a favourite lately."

Heilbronn is a man who is not afraid of variety. He started his working life as a barrow boy in London's Petticoat Lane, moving into a role as an office equipment salesman and then an auditor and eventually a partner at Deloitte. It was this experience in the professional services sector that led to his current role as CEO of a law firm.

This brings us to Kensington Swan and Heilbronn's plans for the firm in an economic climate which some would describe as less than optimal.

"Even without the downturn, the market is no longer growing at an exponential rate and we need to position ourselves to take advantage of all opportunities," he says. "For example, we're continuing to diversify our revenue streams through our e-commerce offerings, MIGs (particularly infrastructure) and new opportunities such as the Middle East - Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Mumbai" he adds.

The international strategy is a key part of Heilbronn's plans.

"We're not just talking Australia, but other parts of the world where opportunity exists and our competitors aren't present," he says.

Other New Zealand firms have expressed scepticism about the viability of opening offices in new markets - a scepticism shared by Heilbronn. But he has a different model in mind.

"We want to build on the fact that New Zealand has some of the cheapest charge-out rates in the world, so we're looking to in-source the work from other parts of the world rather than expand our office network. Of course, we're not ruling out the establishment of new offices where close client contact is required."

The concept of overseas growth based on pre-existing client relationships is a theme raised by a lot of New Zealand firms and embraced by Kensington Swan: "For example, our growth in Mumbai and Dubai falls into that category."

Kensington Swan also has close relationships with Deacons and Blake Dawson, inter alia, but it is not just a referral model. "We want to work with other firms to gain work rather than rely on referrals," says Heilbronn.

"We're putting more coordination into our program. We recognise that we're doing the New Zealand work for Australian clients and law firms, and not international work other than for our Middle Eastern clients," he continues.

Relationship building

Heilbronn likes to use the phrase "client intimacy" when he talks business growth strategies.

"This means listening more effectively and involving the clients in our business planning, as well as getting close to their businesses. It means tailoring solutions and being proactive - improving project management and providing good information sources for them and new e-commerce solutions."

"It means greater consistency across the firm and ensuring clients receive a consistent service that matches their expectations," Heilbronn continues.

All of this sounds fine in theory, but client experience might well just come down to the individual the client is dealing with, a point acknowledged by Heilbronn.

"Getting recruitment right is a very important part of our business. That's why we never have candidate interviews conducted by one person alone. We find that with more people involved, we're likely to get a better sense of whether someone is going to fit into the organisational culture."

When ALB asked about the difficulty of making the transition to a leadership role in a partnership for the first time, we were gently corrected:

"In fact, I was a partner at Deloitte - so I know how a partnership works," says Heilbronn. So how different is it to lead a partnership? "Equity partners view themselves differently from shareholders in a company - they want to be part of things. You need to be clear about the story before implementation; an inclusive style ensures good participation and support. It takes time and a high level of consistency to build solid relationships based on trust, and this is critical to succeeding in law firm management."

Point of difference

Most large Auckland firms tend to be clustered along the Shortland/Queen St precinct. Kensington Swan's offices are an exception, being located right on the water at Viaduct Harbour. It is a physical distinction which is likely to stay in the mind of any visitor.

But offices aside, what is the real distinguishing feature of Kensington Swan?

"It's the language that our people use and the special interest they take in our clients' businesses that make us different," says Heilbronn.

"We involve our clients in our processes. For example, our clients have been involved in our business plan launches for the last two years - commentating, critiquing and being interviewed in front of our people," he explains.

"We also keep the personal touch; junior staff often comment on how open it is and how they can just ask a partner something and will get their time and attention" he continues.

Personal touch is, of course, by definition, a variable of the person involved and the calibre of lawyer a firm is able to attract and retain.

How does Kensington Swan handle the recruitment/retention issue in what is widely acknowledged to be a very tight employment market?

"We aren't losing people to our competitors. But global pressure on wages requires a creative focus, as not all cost can be passed on to clients," says Heilbronn.

"Retention therefore requires a focus on internal culture and personal development. We actively pursue external leadership programs and international secondments," he notes.

"We also offer internally created work opportunities and secondments - for example, secondment and placement protocols with major Australian firms and working in Dubai," Heilbronn says.

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