Overview
Law.com International quoted Ruxandra Cana in a March 4 article titled "Big Law's 'Big Tech' Problem: Are You With Them or Against Them?" The article discusses how major law firms may have to start picking sides with clients as tech giants enter all manner of industries with increasing speed in Europe. In choosing sides between tech companies and industry complainants, law firms have to weigh a whole range of considerations: the potential for conflicts, the expectations of their existing client base, business development opportunities and what their US colleagues have been doing.
Cana, managing partner of Steptoe's Brussels office, suggests that it's the smaller law firms and practices that will more likely face a binary choice. "It's much easier for a smaller firm to pick a side than a larger firm that might have different practices to account for," she explains.
"If you are thinking maybe as a new entrant in a specific practice to build a practice, then you might think: 'Okay, how do I build the practice?' But when you have a practice, you pursue it by defending your clients," Cana says. "You represent your clients and you pursue their interests. I think that’s the foremost discussion."
The full article can be read at Law.com International (subscription required).
