S&C Co-Chair Bob Giuffra joined the Law, Disrupted podcast with host John Quinn, Chairman of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, to discuss the importance of a strong firm culture, recruitment strategies, leadership and the critical role of teamwork in professional services organizations. They also discussed complexities around managing law firm partnerships in increasingly competitive markets.
“We have a very strong culture … we are very focused on the quality of the work,” said Bob. He discussed the history of Sullivan & Cromwell and how that commitment to quality has been central to S&C’s success for 145 years. “It used to be said that William Nelson Cromwell, who was a founder of the Firm, would send communications by hand, by Telex, every possible method; he didn’t want to drop any balls. To this day, we’re very focused on doing the absolute highest quality work.”
Bob and John also discussed S&C’s partnership model, and Bob highlighted how having equity partners who have worked closely together for decades develops trust. S&C is focused on strategic long-term growth through largely internal growth by hiring the best law students. “Our risk management is strong, and that ultimately benefits our clients,” said Bob. “We are very focused on recruiting the best people and making sure that we are mentoring and promoting them.”
Listen to the episode: “Co-Chair of SullCrom on the Future of Law Firms”