Gowling WLG featured in ITN Business series

Interviewer: How does corporate culture shape client experience?

Today, I'm sitting down with David Fennell, the UK chief executive of international law firm, Gowling WLG, to explore that question.

Tell me about Gowling WLG, what do you do and what is your USP

David Fennell: So we're a law firm, an international law firm. So our aim is to be one of the world's leading international sector-focused law firms. So we operate from Vancouver on one side of the world to Singapore and Beijing on the other.

Our USP, I mean, that's a difficult phrase in any business, isn't it? And we're realistic about that. But what we're really trying to do is to provide the very, very best possible experience to clients. And there's a difference between experience and service, which is what most people provide.

Interviewer: And so take me through what you mean in practice by client experience. Why is that so important to you?

David: Everyone can provide a legal service or everyone in our industry can provide a legal service, but we want clients to have the best possible experience as well. I can illustrate that with an example actually that was given to me by a client who said, "you know, we use lots of other law firms, David, but it's not like using you". By which she meant Gowling WLG, not me personally. So I guess that's the point, you know, the experience is different and hopefully better.

Interviewer: And so in terms of corporate culture, how do you make sure that that is right, that it's fit for purpose and that it's able to deliver the client experience that you want it to?

David: What's really, really important to me is that everybody that walks in through the door in the morning can be themselves. And in being themselves, they can then be themselves in front of their clients or with their clients.

So the key thing is recruiting people that we know will build good relationships, are bright lawyers, you know, want to connect and work with colleagues. So that's where we focus our, our efforts, you know, recruiting the right people. They then, of course collectively create the culture. So that's, that's how we go about it.

And I think a law firm like ours can help them to be the best that they can be, but also to, to make a contribution and make a difference. So I think that's perhaps where we have a slight differentiator from some of our competitors.

Interviewer: We're talking in one of your breakout spaces. This doesn't feel like a typical law firm environment. Is that deliberate?

David: That's absolutely deliberate. We wanted to create a very different space where people could come and, and just feel different because what we're asking them to do is to continue to think about different, better ways of serving clients.

And to get them to think in that way, I think you need to take them out of, you know, the desk-based work that they do and into a space which helps them to think deeply about, you know, how do they change, how do they alter the way they provide the service or experience to the client. So that's why we've built the space.

Interviewer: And is it difficult maintaining that consistent corporate culture when you do have a presence around the world?

David: It is more difficult. There's no doubt about that. You know, you have to, I think, acknowledge that there are different cultures and they contribute to the overall firm culture.

So we try and understand those and embrace those. But I think some of the core principles are universal. Really, you know, thinking about clients, their needs and how they want to receive a legal services is really fundamental wherever you operate in the world.

And those are the principles, those general core principles that we try and make sure everybody has and we instil in our people.

Interviewer: How important is innovation in your development as a business?

David: I think we've tried to demystify it a bit. People are quite scared by innovation. They think they've got to invent the vacuum cleaner. What I think innovation is a just very, very small improvements in the way we do things. And if you help people to understand that, it becomes less scary.

The other thing we try and do is, is encourage people to collaborate together. Because most innovations aren't a single brilliant thought by an inventor. They're a series of, you know, small incremental improvements made by people, you know, working together. So that's how we try and demystify it.

You know, every day I get out of bed and look forward to coming to work. And it's because of the people and the clients that we interact with, that I'm so enthusiastic and excited about the future.

Interviewer: David Fennel, thank you very much.

David: Thank you.