Wessing gets TJG-style makeover

Wessing is scrapping its office-based management structure for a departmental model and adopting standard UK law firm accounting practices.
The German firm had been run on a geographical basis, with each office viewed as a profit centre and managed by a lead partner. But Wessing has now set up six departmental profit centres so that the firm can be managed in the same way as TJG.
Wessing managing partner Wolfgang Rehmann said that the office managing partner roles would be axed. They will not be stripped of their responsibilities immediately, but their lead role will be phased out over time.
At the old Wessing, the office managing partners had a seat on the management board. Since voting for the merger at the end of April, TJG and Wessing have set up an eight-partner management board for Taylor Wessing. It is made up of Rehmann, TJG managing partner Gary Moss and three partners from each legacy firm.
Wessing's six main practice groups are: intellectual property, corporate, EU, real estate, employment and private client. Wessing is also building industry focus groups around its practice groups to mirror the structure of TJG. So far it has set up a life sciences group, an IT group and a utilities group.