Business Leadership Awards alumni: Rachel Reid, Taylor Wessing

When Rachel Reid was named Law Firm Management Individual of the Year at The Lawyer Management Awards (now the Business Leadership Awards) in 2014 it was in well-deserved recognition of her important role in helping to deliver legacy SJ Berwin’s ground-breaking link-up with King & Wood Mallesons back in November 2013.

Despite the magnitude of her achievement the award itself came as a complete surprise to Reid, who had not even been aware that she had been entered for it.

“When I saw the shortlist on the night I was surrounded by established COOs [chief operating officers] who had delivered organisational development, innovation and cost reductions,” says Reid. “I was delighted to be on the list and blown over to win.”

One for the organisers

Reid says the effect that winning the award had on herself and her team was significant.

“My team and my firm knew what I’d delivered so it was great market recognition – not just of the innovation involved in the deal, but also recognition of the transformational change and implementation requirements you have to deliver to make deals happen,” she recalls.

“Often, the market will comment on the merger strategy but not the organisational change the business has to deliver. It was great to have that element recognised.”

Reid recently left KWM in favour of a fresh challenge at Taylor Wessing. Less than two months into her role there as COO she is already busy helping to develop her new firm’s strategy which, in her words, means making it “tangible”.

What does this mean in practice?

“It means enabling all our people to understand our strategy and how they contribute to our firm achieving it,” says Reid.

“We have a vision and as a business we won’t achieve anything without our people and our ­clients understanding their role and its importance in delivering our strategy.”

Reid sees her role at Taylor Wessing as one that supports managing partner Tim Eyles, the board and the firm’s partnership in the development of key strategic goals.

Clearly, that is a broad remit and Reid admits that no day is the same.

Same title, different role

“Like all law firm business services roles, the role of the COO is constantly evolving,” she says. “As a job title it means different things in different businesses. My role at Taylor Wessing is different from that at my previous firm, despite the title being the same. In terms of defining the role, I can’t think of anyone who has their job description pinned on their wall to check they’re doing everything it says and nothing more.

“To that end I don’t think defining roles like COO helps as it’s a job that needs to meet the partnership’s and the business’s needs. Therefore, it depends what cycle your firm is in as to what function the COO will perform.”

In terms of direct reports Reid manages IT, the knowledge information centre, secretarial services, the partnership secretariat, facilities and knowledge management. And, as she points out, the success of the firm will ultimately depend on the business services functions working seamlessly together.

“The other important trend is how firms attract and retain talent,” adds Reid. “The legal market is starting to understand the benefits of talent diversification, whether that’s to do with gender, sexual orientation, education, disability, religion or other factors.

“We have to ensure we attract a range of diverse talent and create an environment where all thrive and want to stay. Our clients are also grappling with these issues and that is where joint thinking and sharing experiences can be powerful.”

How can law firms improve in these areas?

“Work with your clients,’ advises Reid. “I don’t think that as a profession we engage with our ­clients enough. Instead, we do things we think our clients want rather than engaging with them to understand their needs.”

That said, Reid believes it is a great role to have in a profession that is seeing a huge amount of change and development.

“The challenge for any law firm COO is to understand your partnership, client base and overall business so you can identify where you can add most value,” she concludes.