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04 September 2015 / Gary Carrington
Issue: 7666 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Changing faces

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Gary Carrington considers how non-lawyer senior managers & non-executive directors can bring something new to the board

Over the past few years we’ve witnessed a rise in the number of UK law firms and partnerships appointing non-lawyer managers and non-executive directors (NEDs) to the board and this trend looks set to continue.

Non-lawyers can bring a whole host of business expertise and insight to help grow a firm that are not within the skill sets of a lawyer. For example, they could provide expert assistance with finance, marketing, training, or even strategic direction and growth.

Acquisition

If a law firm decides on a new strategy to grow through acquisition, for example, it is vital that a senior decision maker has experience of raising acquisition finance, due diligence and post integration strategy in making the decision to acquire another law firm. They will have a practical understanding of how a law firm runs in a given legal sector but not necessarily experience in that wider context. This is where the benefits of a non-lawyer come into his or her own. If the law firm recruited a senior

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