Charles Russell Speechlys boss Simon Ridpath on building a law firm around private capital

Charles Russell Speechlys has expanded quickly under managing partner Simon Ridpath, opening in Milan and Singapore before making a defining move into the US this year. The strategy is built around the firm’s ambition to become the world’s leading adviser to private capital – following wealthy individuals, families and entrepreneurs as their lives and investments become increasingly mobile globally.

In this episode, Simon explains why the US had become an unavoidable gap in the firm’s network, what he learnt during two-and-a-half years studying the market and why CRS resisted the temptation to accelerate its launch simply by “opening a chequebook”.

We also go inside the 2014 merger that created Charles Russell Speechlys. Simon reflects on the challenge of combining two genuinely equal firms, why he prefers to talk about behaviours rather than culture and why mergers pursued principally for scale should make law firm leaders nervous.

Finally, we explore one of the biggest questions facing the profession: how partnerships will fund international expansion, AI and the increasingly complicated business of running a law firm. Simon explains why private equity ownership remains difficult for Big Law, where external investment could work on a project basis and how technology may force firms to overhaul traditional pay and reward structures.

Chapters

00:01 Introduction
00:55 Leading through constant disruption
03:08 From legal aid work to City law
04:59 Inside the Charles Russell Speechlys merger
09:18 Why Simon became managing partner
11:18 Building the firm around private capital
17:09 Why CRS finally entered the US
23:15 Following private capital into Milan and Singapore
26:23 Funding growth, private equity and the impact of AI