Flexible futures

In this issue we wanted to talk about the idea of law firms setting targets for diversity in legal business management or leadership – but not as many people wanted to talk to us about it as we’d have liked. We thought that was a bit odd, and so – as I hope you’d expect – we’re going to talk about it anyway.

In this issue, Briefing meets the leaders of Allen & Overy’s flexible resourcing model Peerpoint, and hears, among other things, how exploring alternative career paths, possibly involving less traditional work patterns, could have a part to play in the diversity battle. But, of course, that’s just for the lawyers – what about all the others who make up a client-facing team?

CONTRACT SKILLERS

Allen & Overy’s Peerpoint prides itself on offering clients an enticingly efficient model of doing business – but is it also a vision of every firm’s future?

SILK-SMOOTH SUPPORT

Rare is the UK law firm uninterested in China’s advances – but only Michelmores has helped a Chinese firm to open here

CLOUD JUDGEMENT

Eric Sugden, chief technology officer at Thomson Reuters Elite, says cloud technology isn’t just perfectly safe – it’s a competitive advantage