Anyone know what a law firm does if it is working on a deal and they don't have a practice area needed? I assume they use a boutique firm maybe?
i.e. if a firm is working on an M&A deal and don't have an employment team.
I think they will have a best-friend network of law firms which have an employment law practice area. When the firm without their own employment law team is working on a M&A deal that requires employment law advice, they will instruct their network of firms on those issues instead. I think it’s similar to when a law firm needs jurisdiction-specific advice but they don’t have an office in that particular region. They will seek help from local firms in that region. Some of these firms may be independent and have a network of firms across different jurisdictions (e.g., Travers Smith, Macfarlanes, Slaughter and May) to help them on cross-border deals and disputes. I guess in the future, if clients of the firm expressed that they needed the firm to have an employment law practice, then the firm would perhaps look to recruit partners in their firm with employment law expertise. 🤷🏾♂️