Gerard brings more than 30 years of experience in the legal and professional services sector to his clients. He has undertaken a wide range of roles, predominantly advising (international) legal organisations (law firms, patent & trademark attorneys and in-house legal departments) and alternative legal service providers, governments and multinational corporations on strategy and market positioning, organisational design and human resource strategy formulation. In the legal sector he has executed strategic reviews, mergers, market entries and complex change processes. Since 2005 Gerard’s main focus has been on assisting clients to create and expand competitive legal businesses in the United States and across Europe.
Profile & Professional background
Before establishing his own consultancy in 2005, Gerard worked with Clifford Chance LLP, having global responsibility for various post-merger integration processes as well as human resource performance, partner development and client management educational programs. He also founded and headed the Clifford Chance Academy.
Before joining Clifford Chance LLP in 1999, Gerard worked as an international strategy consultant in the professional services sector. He has undertaken assignments with international law firms and in-house legal departments in the United States, Asia, United Kingdom and in continental Europe. Gerard worked as a general director at the prestigious TMC ASSER Institute for International Law and as legal advisor at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was an associate professor at Leiden University.
Education & Memberships
Gerard holds an LLM and PhD in Law and has an MBA from the University of California. He was a visiting professor for the Entrepreneurship & Innovation program at the Law Faculty of the University of Leiden. Gerard is a member of the IBA and he is active in the IBA Law Firm Management Committee.
Recent Projects
- Market entry of a leading international firm into Sweden
- Market entry of a global business law firm into Scandinavia
- Merger between a leading European law firm and a Czech national business law firm
- Merger between a leading European law firm and a Polish national business law firm
- Establishment of a Brussels office, EU practice, Trade Law and Government Affairs practice in Brussels on behalf of a leading European law firm
- Strategic reviews for independent, national business law firms and boutique firms in Italy and Benelux jurisdictions
- Restructuring of several Dutch, Caribbean and Italian independent business law firms
- Onboarding of practices and teams on behalf of several International Business Law firms across continental Europe
- Design of international referral strategies for Dutch and Italian national, independent firms
- Strategic review of the IBA
Publications & Seminars
Podcast – Trends & ontwikkelingen in de advocatuur | AboutLaw, 2020.
Special Report – Legal Tech and Digital Transformation. Competitive Positioning and Business Models of Law Firms | Globe Law and Business, 2018.
Interview – High Impact Developments Dutch Legal Market | Dutch Legal Magazine Growth Quarterly, 2016.
Article – Leading post-merger integration processes (a contribution in Leadership for Lawyers, 2015)
Article – Changing Competition Regimes: Organizational Best Practices for Navigating Cross-border Legal and Political Risks in Emerging Markets | Lex Mundi Summit, 2014.
Interview – Increasing and intensifying relationships German and Dutch law firms | Dutch Legal Magazine, 2014.
Interview – Big auditors are advancing in legal services |Financieel Dagblad, 2014.