Bright future ahead

In one of last year´s hightlights, RCD became the Spanish office of Brithish giant DWF. After several months of collaboration through a “best friends agreement”, both firms decided to join forces, creating a recombined DNA that Will allow them to be more competitive in order to fase the challenges that Will be presented in 2020

 The new organization already operates under the DWF-RCD brand and both Adolf Rousaud and Ignasi Costas, founders of RCD and co-managing partners, have been appointed members of the DWF Continental Europe Executive Committee and have been included on the board of DWF Ventures and DWF Connected Services.

Both say that from the beginning of the synergy with the UK firm, which currently has approximately 3,200 professionals and closed the fiscal year 2019 with revenues of £272 million, they perceived that there was a lot of affinity in values and ways of understanding the profession. “Both firms have a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a distinctive people-focused approach to law, with the aim of transforming legal services through our team and for our clients. We feel mutual respect and share the will to grow in a mature and highly competitive market such as the legal one, betting in a decisive way on innovation and technology and with a global vocation”. As far as DWF-RCD is concerned, they explain that the operation does not involve significant organizational changes, but it does allow us to take another step forward in the project that began 16 years ago, thanks to a new recombined DNA.

That will enhance the good growth that the firm has achieved in recent years, which places it among the main players in the national market. “It gives us the possibility to continue operating as we did before, but adding capabilities and equipment, integrating new technologies, expanding our network and international presence. In short, an improvement in our value proposal for those who trust us and an increase in our competitiveness”, they point out.

COMMITMENT TO TECHNOLOGY

This integration, say Rousaud and Costas, brings numerous benefits to the firm. Among them, taking advantage of DWF’s specialization in sectors such as insurance, real estate, and finance, the firm will be able to promote relevant practices. These are good practices that RCD wants to assimilate in other fields, “especially in terms of technology implementation. For law firms, not only is digital transformation key, but also technological disruption and transformation in the provision of legal services”. Thanks to these and other factors, both managing partners point out “we will be able to address a process of disruption and transformation of legal services of which DWF-RCD wants to be a catalyst and part of offering an even better service”.

EXPANSIONIST VOCATION

This merger also opens up a great opportunity to tackle one of the great challenges for 2020: talent. “We will be able to offer a value proposition to our professionals with the possibility of working side by side with a team of 3,600 people worldwide, with possibilities of secondments in the medium term, while benefiting from a network of offices in 31 key locations around the world. In a market as competitive as the legal one, Rousaud and Costas say, attracting, motivating and retaining talent will be key to the success of the project. For this reason, they explain, the firm will continue to be committed to developing attractive talent policies, offering training programs to our professionals with new skills. In addition, they emphasize, the fact that DWF is a listed firm, “opens an interesting possibility from the perspective of talent, since it will allow us to offer new incentives to our professionals, which matches our meritocratic vision”.
On the other hand, both managing partners make it clear that “the firm’s vocation is expansive at a geographical and sectoral level”. Thanks to the firm’s geographical positioning and cultural knowledge, the objective is “to provide strategic and growth-oriented entry points to other geographical areas, as well as to international markets such as Portugal and Latin America. We will become one of the main players in the global legal sector” they highlight. Looking to the near future, and in view of the rumors that have been circulating for some time about a possible slowdown, both Costas and Rousaud hope that the new government will implement actions to stimulate the economy, “all of which will have an impact on the legal sector, just like Brexit, which will mark a good part of the activity of many firms and will present uncertainties, but also a good number of opportunities”. Also, they say, foresee growth opportunities in sectors such as real estate, energy, technology or insurance.

ADOLF ROUSAUD (pictured, left)

Co-managing partner of DWF-RCD. As the partner in charge of the Commercial Department, he specializes in advising on M&A processes, as well as corporate restructuring, project finance, and corporate compliance. He has developed strategies for complex and multidisciplinary projects and has participated in numerous high-level transactions, many of which are international in nature, as well as in investment and disinvestment processes, refinancing and takeover bids.

IGNASI COSTAS (pictured, right)

Co-managing partner of DWF-RCD. Head of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Area, which takes entrepreneurship, venture capital, corporate venturing, and academic spinoff practices. He has extensive experience advising entrepreneurs and investors in investment and strategic alliance negotiation processes. He has also collaborated with different public research entities and in the creation of knowledgebased companies (spin-offs).

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