Home | Legal Market Consulting | Law Firm Strategy Consulting
SSQ advises law firms on strategy to complement organic growth. We broker law firm mergers/alliances (including compliance with local regulatory requirements), acquire law boutiques, establish new practices, expand geographical/practice coverage, and counsel management on key decisions and changes.
We have significant experience and understanding of the legal sector in multiple jurisdictions. Many of our consultants are qualified lawyers who have worked in private practice or in-house, and can offer a 360-degree insight into the environment where lawyers and clients operate.
Working with most of the leading international and domestic law firms in the world, we regularly provide them with insightful market analysis and practical solutions. These partnerships, together with our long-standing global relationships with Magic Circle, White Shoe and top international law firms in Asia, the UK, Europe, the Middle East and North America, give us unrivalled connections.
Below are recent examples of what we have successfully done for our clients.
Acted for a foreign law firm on registering and establishing their first China office, including communications on local regulations, advice on best application procedures, and preparation and submission of all application documents to obtain the relevant licenses and approval efficiently
Advised a leading international law firm on the extension of its alternative legal services into China, including assessing the business feasibility, analyzing market competition and talent availability, and implementing the plan successfully with minimal regulatory risks
Worked with two Chinese law firms (in alliance with international law firms in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone) on the registration and establishment of their first-ever branch offices. This included liaising with relevant authorities to secure their branch approvals and certificates quickly to meet the firms’ time-sensitive business and staffing requirements
Acted for a UK law firm to launch its IP practice in China, which included establishing an IP consultancy legal entity from scratch, and acquiring a market-leading IP team from a rival firm
Helped an international law firm set up its banking finance practice from zero to offices in Beijing and Shanghai, utilizing comprehensive market analysis of the practice and achieving the unusual concurrent acquisitions of two teams from two different law firms
Assisted a leading US law firm in taking on a specialist IP and litigation team from a leading Chinese law firm to launch a brand-new practice in China, and enhance its international dispute resolution capability
Assisted a leading US law firm in assessing its business strategies in China after the retirement of its long-standing local managing partner, and facilitated the acquisition of an intact team (including the China head) of another US law firm to launch a new practice and a restructure of the firm’s teams in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong
Acted for several international law firms in establishing exclusive alliances with Chinese law firms in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone area (SFTZ). This included helping the management to review its China strategy, searching and assessing different alliance targets, advising on negotiation and completion of alliance terms, counseling on regulatory requirements, and assisting with the preparation of SFTZ application documents and their submission to the approval authority
Advised a large accounting firm on integrating a whole team of legal experts, including negotiation of the integration terms, advice on the regulatory sensitivities, counseling on the rebranding of two firms, and alignment of different compensation and team structures
Advised a Chinese law firm (in alliance with a leading international law firm under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)) on expanding its offerings domestically by establishing its first-ever branch. This included advising on the two firms’ closer cooperation, changing the existing operation structure to suit the new branch, and acquiring qualified teams and partners to meet regulatory and business needs
Exclusively engaged by a Chinese law firm to redesign its partnership compensation structure and lawyer’s cooperation system, including interviewing all partners, lawyers and support staff to assess current remuneration details, checking the firm’s historical accounting and audit records, advising the founder and managing partner on best practices, introducing data-driven work and operations system, and reporting the final designs to all stakeholders for their buy-in
Advised a leading international law firm on revamping its current remuneration, title and promotion systems in China offices in order to align with the new businesses and lawyers acquired from a major Chinese law firm. This included discussions with the firm’s global management on local market reality, and advising the Asia partnership on best practices
