A Discussion with Jim Harrowell

 

 

Jim Harrowell, of Hunt & Hunt (Sydney) recently completed his second year as Chair of Interlaw, marking seven years of service to the Interlaw Board of Directors.  He maintains a busy practice as a full time commercial law attorney and as an international dispute resolution neutral.  He is called upon as an expert in China-Australia and China-India-Australia trade relations, and is quoted regularly in the popular press, trade, legal and business publications, and government studies and reports.    In short, Jim Harrowell is an aficionado of effective change management, and for the past two years he has applied these talents to navigating Interlaw into a position of strength amid the otherwise choppy waters of consolidated global legal services. 

The Interlawyer:

It’s been quite a year, Jim.  What would you say is the highlight of 2005?

Mr. Harrowell:

Just getting back now from the Mexico City General Meeting, I must candidly admit that the meeting itself, topped with the after-tour in Oaxaca was the highlight of my year.  Capín, Calderon, Ramírez y Gutiérrez hosted a very popular meeting and the delegates were delighted from start to finish.        

        

   

Guest Tony Raia leads discussion on leadership

One of the great privileges and pleasures as Chair of Interlaw is to meet work and socialise with so many Interlawyers and their partners in different locations around the world and this year a special highlight was to have Interlawyer of the Year Jerry Biederman, his wife and mother as Honorary Interlawyers traveling with us in Mexico, proof that Interlaw is a highly skilled group of committed lawyers but also an amazing multi-generational family.   

Jerry Biederman of Neal Gerber & Eisenberg (Chicago) is Interlawyer of the Year

The Interlawyer:

Meetings were indeed new and different this year.  The Interlaw Regional Meetings, hosted by your firm, Hunt & Hunt,  in Australia for Asia Pacific, introduced a clients to resources throughout the region; Edinburgh’s Morton Fraser rolled out the Britannia Red Carpet  for the European/Middle East/Africa Regional delegates as well as European IP IT group and European Women Lawyers of Interlaw, and Arias Fabrega Fabrega’s Panama meeting introduced an innovative interaction game modeled on law firm  profitability.

Mr. Harrowell:

Absolutely, and don’t forget that it was in Edinburgh that we tapped into the brain trust of former chairs of Interlaw.  Garry Boyce (Hunt & Hunt), Steve Weinberg (Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman llp), Bruce Wood (Morton Fraser llp), and Jerry Metcalf (Thompson & Knight) were good enough to focus on what we’ve been calling the “changing legal landscape” but what really comes down to how to better position our members to deliver the best services to clients so the clients continue to use Interlaw as a source for reliable legal counsel. They helped strategize standards and clarify guidelines for multiple network memberships.  We talked about lots of topics in that session and I tell you that was time well spent.

The Interlawyer:

And there has been strategic membership selection this year—and growth in business activity.

Mr. Harrowell:

We pledged to focus on Europe in 2006 and we got a jump start in 2005. Three of our four new Interlaw members hail from the European Region, Noble & Scheidecker (Luxembourg), Alexen (Paris & Lyon), and Arnecke & Siebold (Frankfurt).  And at long last we found a highly respected Beijing member, Zhong Lun Law Firm.

The Board has moved us from a purely defensive, referral-driven network, to a proactive business development network, and yet we have been successfully able to maintain the camaraderie, networking and trust that we have highly valued throughout the years. That is different from any other legal network that I know of, and our clients report how much they appreciate learning from our members that they have reliable, trustworthy colleagues to handle matters that may arise in distant jurisdictions.  We couldn’t have done that without the groundwork the last couple of years in visibility, our new website, and the name recognition that is enhanced every time Interlaw is included in business profiles about legal networks. 

Special Business Teams—led by members and coordinated through the Secretariat—are capturing business as never before.  New Special Business Teams are being launched too, which is good for our clients and great for the network.

And I am very pleased with the leadership of the Business Development Task Force.  We should see more business activity in the European Region in 2006, and by using every tool in the Interlaw arsenal; “warm introductions” by fellow Interlawyers, face to face meetings with clients, collaborative approach by special business teams, RFPs, media, affiliated professional relationships. We plan to report positive results by this time next year.

The Interlawyer:

Happy New Year, Jim

Mr. Harrowell:

Thank you, on behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish our Secretariat and all our Interlawyers a cheerful holiday season and a fresh new start on a fruitful 2006.