Helping you sustain success

First Counsel is the only dedicated source of expert interim managers serving the professions. We cover all management functions and each of our managers has been carefully evaluated to meet specific criteria. Constantly appraised and supported, they offer much more than a stop-gap solution. An effective interim manager is overqualified for the task, bringing a wealth of experience, unconstrained by personalities or politics and focused on delivery. Our senior interim managers are judged on results and they know how to add value, fast.

The interim management industry is relatively new, but has grown quickly during the last 25 years to become big business. In the UK alone, the market is estimated to be worth £1bn per annum. The concept is one of the by-products of significant social and economic changes that have taken place over the last two decades and which have had a profound impact on our working lives. It reflects the move towards more flexible working patterns and the adoption of more versatile approaches by organisations to the management of their human resources. On the one hand, as individuals we are now much more in command of our own careers; on the other hand, employers are able to respond to economic conditions with far greater ease and fleetness of foot. In short, we have become a more nimble, more efficient workforce.

70% of professional service firms have a requirement for senior interim managers

Recently we conducted some research. You told us that the majority (70%) of major firms with 30 partners or more have a need for interim management services. A quarter of such firms claimed that they did so two or more times a year. The average duration of assignments is 6-9 months (seldom less than 4 months) and occasionally as many as 12-15.

Why might you need us?

There are a variety of reasons why an interim manager could be required by an organisation. These include:

• Short term management and leadership challenges
• Implementation of new strategy
• Sudden departure – senior executive gaps
• Drift avoidance
• Merger and integration projects
• Crisis management
• Organisational restructuring and change management
• Fast-tracking of special projects
• Business turn-around
• Maternity or sabbatical cover
• Specialist skill and experience to get things up and running

What are the key benefits?

Our interim managers offer a number of key benefits:

• We have an intimate understanding of the way professional service firms work
• We operate inside your business as an integral resource
• You get our undivided attention
• We are totally results driven
• Our approach is entirely objective
• Project leadership is our core skill
• We are highly motivated team players
• Our people have high energy levels, instant credibility and excellent communication skills
• We ensure the transfer of specialist knowledge, skills and experience
• We add significant, measurable value – more than just a safe pair of hands
• Your risk is managed and the continuity of your business assured
• We undertake a full post – assignment review and facilitate a smooth hand-over of responsibilities.

In recent research carried out among senior executives in client companies, respondents were asked to rate out of 5 a list of possible benefits that may come from hiring interim managers. These are the results:

Our clients

We are pleased to work with

• 12 Global 100 law firms
• 13 of the leading 25 law firms in the UK
• Other successful professional service and knowledge-based organisations

Here is a representative list of our clients:

Covering all the bases

When it comes to professional service firm management, we’ve got it all covered:

The process

• Meet with client to take full brief
• Deliver 2-3 CVs inside 4 days
• All candidates interviewed, assessed and approved (references readily available)
• All candidates have PI insurance and the majority trade through a limited company
• Water-tight IR35-compliant agreements with client and interim manager
• Interim manager commences assignment within a few weeks or less
• Project plan agreed within 10 days of start
• First Counsel maintains a watching brief
• Monthly tracking of progress and relationship by phone and email
• Service reviews as required by client
• Project de-brief prior to end of assignment
• Seamless, planned hand-over

Our legacy

Yours is already a successful company. However, we always seek to put your business into even better shape and help you achieve sustained success. More than just a safe pair of hands, each of our seasoned senior managers adds demonstrable longer-term value to client organisations over and above the immediate scope of an assignment. Even after an interim role comes to an end, we remain on hand to ensure that clients continue to benefit from our input and advice. The relationship doesn’t end just because the project does; to us, it is more of an ongoing partnership than a short term contract. So, for results that are anything but interim, contact
Asha Lutchmun on 020 7332 6310 or asha.lutchmun@first-counsel.co.uk, or Simon Slater on 020 7332 6336 or simon.slater@first-counsel.co.uk.

Member - Interim Management Association

What will it cost you?
We believe in adding tangible value to our clients' businesses. The most direct way of doing so is to focus on meeting their "mission critical" needs and helping them to "avoid unnecessary drift" caused by short-term senior resource gaps...