Norton Rose Changes Leadership Structure to Boost Collaboration

Norton Rose Fulbright said it has adopted a new leadership structure that encourages lawyers to collaborate across regions.

Managing partners of five regional arms will serve on a global management committee, under a structure the firm began testing a year ago. The firm installed two global managing partners to oversee the overall operation.

“We in essence removed a layer of management so we could drive the business forward a bit more nimbly,” Jeff Cody, a global managing partner along with Peter Scott, said in an interview.

Norton Rose has been looking to boost collaboration as it pursues a growth strategy. Cody has said he wants the firm’s US operation to grow to about 1,000 lawyers by the end of next year. The management redesign came after the firm’s former chief executive, Gerry Pecht, left in September last year and a handful of global C-suite leaders also departed.

Firm leaders tested how the new design affected the referral of matters across regions and how well it encouraged lawyers from different geographic areas to work together on matters. Norton Rose saw “steady increases” in both metrics over the past year, Cody said.

The firm in a statement credited the structure for financial results last year that included global revenue growth of 8% and overall demand for its services rising by 5%.

“It’s clear that if we can really unlock the potential of the global network, there is a lot more upside there for us,” Scott said.

Norton Rose is structured as a Swiss verein, meaning its five regions are financially independent. The managing partners from each of those arms comprise the global management committee.

“The five of us work together to make decisions, plan, and invest in how we’re going to move forward,” said Cody, who is also the US managing partner. Scott, the other global managing partner, also leads the Europe, Middle East and Asia arm.

The three other global management committee members are Australia chief executive Alison Deitz, Canada managing partner Jennifer Teskey, and South Africa CEO Brent Botha.

The firm was created through the 2013 merger of Texas-founded Fulbright & Jaworski and global firm Norton Rose. The operation worldwide has more than 3,000 lawyers.