Interview with Robert Hays, Chairman of King & Spalding
Veröffentlicht am 30. Sept. 2013
“Our added strength lies in the emotional intelligence of our lawyers"
Robert Hays. We began our expansion later than a number of our competitors, which allowed us to learn from them. Those who have been too ambitious, opening offices at every opportunity, have paid the price. We are in a rational dynamic expansion: our strategy is not to grow for the sake of growing. We are giving ourselves the means to bring quality to its highest level. Although we are a large firm – the 34th in the world – our pursuit of excellence is constant. This involves maintaining a required level of expertise thanks to the recruitment of the best teams in each of our offices. We focus on our areas of expertise as they have to be at the highest level of their specific markets.
Leaders League. Does your strategy consist of going where your clients need you?
R. H. We are sufficiently close to our clients and the key players in the sectors we operate in to determine their plans for development and anticipate their needs. We are then well positioned to attract the required talent in each of the targeted areas. We then put together high performance teams to meet the expectations of our clients.
Leaders League. King & Spalding have opened twelve offices in the past five years. The firm has totally changed physically. How have you adapted to such extreme change?
Robert Hays. The world, like us, is changing rapidly. In the technology sector, for example, the trend is for increased regulatory involvement which forces the key players in the market to adapt quickly. We too have to adapt our ambitions and our habits. This is what we have been doing for the past thirty years. It requires us to rise to certain challenges. We are managing to open offices even though the current global economic climate is not favorable to entrepreneurial initiatives. To use our talents, maintain our reputation, have the ability to withstand the pressure and be able to adapt, this is where our strengths lie.
Leaders League. What are King & Spaldings core strengths?
R. H. King & Spalding’s DNA is made up of dependable, ambitious, lawyers, who enjoy working together. To preserve this DNA we select talented people. By joining us, they become spearheads of the firm. We want intelligent people, beyond the etymological sense. Too many lawyers portray the image of a negative or unfriendly person. Our lawyers distinguish themselves by their positivity and their creativity. For this, the ability to unite our knowledge is not enough. We differentiate ourselves through our emotional intelligence, this is one of the core strengths at King & Spalding. We develop a family culture within groups, teams and in the firm as a whole. If a person doesn’t match this criteria there is no place for him/her amongst us.
Leaders League. What about the New York and London offices? Do you see them growing by acquiring a firm?
R. H. London and New York form very important teams, essentially driven by the banking, financial and transactions practices,. In London, the market is very competitive. We have recently recruited Martin Hunt, who specializes in the Energy market and William Charnley (ex Mayer Brown), who specializes in M&A, private equity and capital markets. New York is a very important market. We have to be perfectly conscious of how we construct ourselves. To ensure our leadership and clear strategy, we constantly analyze our situation and we encourage leaders. Globally, we do not encourage business models used by our competitors. We have our own way of being and seeing.