Smith and Jones: An International English Law Firm in Italy

This disguised case set in April 2016, based on true events, describes an existential crisis faced by an English law firm operating in Italy. English law firms entered Italy in the 1990s through alliances with reputed Italian firms. The intention was to gain access to the lucrative Italian legal market. When they started operations, these firms aimed to achieve a leading position in the Italian market (top three strategy). Hence, their Italian operations were afforded a high degree of autonomy and preserved their distinctive Italian identity. But later, in the 2000s, English law firms started adopting a one-firm strategy to integrate their Italian operations into the global network. This created a great deal of tension and complexity, as Italian professional logic differed radically from the English logic. Subsequently, alliances and mergers between the English and Italian firms unravelled quickly, resulting in an existential crisis for the English law firms in Italy after over a decade of operations. The case presents such a situation through the eyes of partner John Smith, of the firm Smith and Jones, who must determine how to avert such a crisis while taking into account the Italian legal approach, and without diluting the global nature of his firm.

The case is suitable for graduate-level courses on strategy, international business, professional services firms, or institutional theory for students with or without work experience. In addition, the cultural differences aspect can also be discussed in an organizational behaviour or cross-cultural management course.<br><br>This case brings out many elements of how a GPSF navigates the challenges of institutional complexity in a globalized world order. The case would be best placed after the basics of internationalization and professional services firms have been covered. The instructor can vary the intensity of the case discussion based on the level of work experience of the participants. Studying this case will give students the opportunity to do the following:<br><br><ul><li>Gain a deeper understanding of how professional service firms, in general, and law firms, in particular, might experience and respond to the challenges of internationalization.</li><li>Analyze the tensions faced by global professional service firms (GPSFs) in balancing global integration and local responsiveness.</li><li>Identify the differences between English and Italian professional logic and institutional profiles.</li><li>Develop strategies for GPSFs to tackle the challenges of institutional complexity.</li></ul>

• Internationalization
• Institutional Complexity
• Institutional Logic
• Cross-Cultural Management
• Global Strategy