When DLA Philips Fox partner Robin Shute joined Wotton + Kearney, he told ALB that he was looking for a change. He says he resigned from Phillips Fox in July 2008, because he was looking for more “independence” and greater “opportunity” with a pre-eminent firm in the insurance marketplace.

 

Shute has taken his senior associate Andrew Seiter and many of his clients with him, and is pleased with the move. “Wotton + Kearney is less rigid in its approach and outlook, and is purely focused on insurance, which is my area of practice. It personally gives me more opportunity in the insurance market place,” he said.

 

Wotton + Kearney has other lawyers who also moved from Phillips Fox, many of whom Shute has come to “admire professionally.” “They were my point of contact and it was a relevant move since I knew who I would work with and vice-versa,” he said.

 

Other partners who have recently moved also agree that salary is secondary to other aspects such as independence. TurksLegal partner Lisa Norris, formerly of Deacons says that more independence allows for better self-management of one’s practice. “There is more innovation when one has that latitude to independently run his or her own practice,” she said.

  

Henry Davis York partner Michael Wright moved from Allens Arthur Robinson, and now enjoys working without the “national firm overhead.”  David Quigg of Quigg Partners says there is no doubt that with the smaller group one has more control over one’s environment. However, this does not necessarily mean less income. “You can be small, independent and have greater responsibility and income. Generally, our candidates are attracted to the relationship between staff, working in a small group,” said Quigg.