35 Years of Leadership: David Kay, former WLG President
David N. Kay OBE
Retired from Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath and former WLG President
How did you first get involved with WLG, and what led you to take on a leadership position?
I joined Gardner, Carton & Douglas at the end of 1991 to help to grow their international practice. The firm was a member of WLG and they asked me to go to the next meeting, which was in Denver, and to report back on what I thought of the network and whether GCD should remain a member. The Denver meeting was very good and I reported back that the WLG was a network with strong firms and great potential. However, we needed to make a commitment, both financially and with people, to support the WLG and attend the conferences and become involved in the leadership of the organization. The management of the firm agreed to support the WLG and over the years, WLG became, and still is, the cornerstone of the firm’s international strategy.
What was the most meaningful accomplishment during your time as a WLG leader (from any of the roles in which you served)?
Probably the following:
(i) Introducing a new logo for the WLG. The previous one was outdated. We also had a short video about the new logo and the WLG, which was useful for pitches to potential clients about WLG.
(ii) Focusing on improving the practice groups – streamlining the number of groups; closing the underperforming ones and then establishing new ones.
(iii) Looking at transition/succession within the member firms and the KCP’s. We encouraged new, younger partners at the member firms to get involved in WLG.
(iv) Expanding the executive/admin team to meet the growing demands of WLG.
How did your leadership positions within the network allow you to connect with more member lawyers and professionals?
It gave me the opportunity to get to know many of the member firm representatives and their firms very well and to understand what they do in their practices. This helps enormously when cross selling WLG to potential clients. The fact that we actually know very well the lawyers we are referring work to around the world sets us apart from the global law firms. Also, spending time identifying and meeting potential new member firms for WLG gave me the opportunity to hear the views of many of our KCP’s as to the future growth and vision for WLG.
As we reflect upon our growth during our 35th anniversary, tell us about the changes you've seen in the network during the years you have been involved.
WLG today is quite different from what it was 35 years ago, but it has managed to maintain the strong sense of camaraderie amongst the lawyers in the member firms. The organization has grown strategically, with a focus on first class quality of work and is well run with an excellent administrative team. WLG is competing very effectively with the global firms and is focused on growing and managing the practice groups which is key to servicing clients in different countries. With the regular on-line meetings and webinars, the lawyer exchange programme, the conferences twice a year and the various meetings and podcasts on current issues, e.g. International trade, data privacy, it keeps WLG front and centre on the radar screens of our clients. For the first 20 years or so of WLG, I felt that law firm networks were trying to prove themselves to clients as a viable alternative to the global law firms. I now find there is a much greater acceptance of legal networks in the corporate community and clients recognize the advantages and value a network can provide over the global law firms. Fortunately, over the last 35 years WLG has grown to become one of the leading law firm networks with great visibility.