INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC ALLIANCES IN LEGAL BUSINESS

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INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC ALLIANCES IN LEGAL BUSINESS

Journal Title: Економічна теорія та право - Year 2017, Vol 2, Issue 29

Abstract

Problem setting. The development of legal business reveals new trends related to integration processes. One is to establish international strategic alliances (ISA) of law firms. Unfortunately, Ukrainian lawyers don’t have the practice of participation in such structures. Recent research and publication analysis. B. Garrett, P. Dyussozh, R. Hlushanytsya, V. Korolev, Ye. Koroleva, H. Kostyuk, O. Lavrov, K. Staniva and others foreign and domestic scholars and practitioners devote their studies to analysis of strategic alliances. However, the problem of the establishment and operation of strategic alliances of law firms is unexplored. Paper objective. The article’s purpose is to characterize the nature, forms and characteristics of ISA in legal business. Paper main body. The author investigates the essence of ISA, separates transactional, competitive and relational interpretations of alliances nature, and summarizes scientific approaches to classification of strategic alliances. The author exposes the features of an integration ISA of law firms who specialize a) at one legal practice, but work in different jurisdictions; b) at complementary or compatible legal practice, but require joint legal action. The article substantiates the possibility offorming complementary ISA of law firms with firms from other sectors whose activitiescomplement each other (legal consulting, taxation, accounting and auditing). International legal practice also demonstrates the effectiveness of the creation of complex and functional ISA, formal and informal ISA, as well as joint venture of law firms with foreign partners. The author argues that the ISA does not mean merger, but the ISA, which was established on the basis of law firm mergers, are much more successful. This is shown by the example of the American law firm Hogan & Hartson and British law firm Lovells, which in 2010 created through the merger of law firm Hogan Lovells. The newly formed company immediately entered into the top ten law firms in the world, joined to multiple ISA and began to conquer the world market of legal services. However, the law firm ISA is not problem-free and does not solve all the problems of the legal business. Often there are prerequisites for the demise of the ISA and search for new partners to the alliance or for the use of other alternative structures, especially of business networking or associations of law firms. Conclusion of the research. Ukrainian law firms are interested in joining to ISA. Among the reasons for this there are transnationalization and globalization of business customers experience and significant competitive advantages of the law firm who already operating in the international legal market. This requires further research theory and practice of creation and functioning of ISA. Short Abstract for an article Abstract. The article analyzes the content of integration processes in modern business, essence and types of strategic alliances. The author examines the features of international strategic alliances of law firms and their differences from alternative structures. The author pays special attention to the success of alliances arising on the basis of the merger of law firms and to the contradictions of international strategic alliances in the legal business.

Authors and Affiliations

Людмила Степанівна Шевченко

Keywords

EP ID EP218901
DOI -
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