‘Doing the right thing at the right time’ may seem a simple rule to follow, but in essence is one of the core principles when building a profitable and long term relationship between a firm and its clients; and the visit by the students on the MSc in Law and Finance programme to Allen and Overy’s headquarters in London demonstrated this premise in a hands-on interactive session.
The session focused on developing an innovative, effective and engaging business development plan to build a relationship with a fast-growing Telecommunications company and win a greater share of its legal spend.
The students were divided into five groups with 8-9 people in each. Each group had to approach the challenge strategically using certain tactics at appropriate times to make the most impact. The idea was to emphasise the importance of ‘proper planning’ and ‘prioritisation’. Towards the end of the game, students were told ‘A possible winning approach’ to the challenge of building a strong business development plan. Tackling a task usually reserved for senior level members of a major law firm, while being just graduate students resulted in a valuable learning experience.
The exercise was followed by a lively presentation of prizes and a presentation by MLF alumnus, Luca de Villy, currently a trainee at A&O. Dan Awrey, programme director, discreetly left the room at this point to allow the students to quiz Luca on the ins and outs of the MLF programme and on his career choices. The day was rounded off with an MLF alumni reunion, where the current cohort had the opportunity to meet alumini currently working in A&O and in other leading London law firms. This gave them an insight into the relevance of the MLF degree while applying to law firms and gain insight into the career path of MLF graduates.
