How to win the commercial law game: ex-RPC boss Jonathan Watmough reveals all
Former City law firm leader breaks down what it takes to succeed in today's legal market.
Contents
Jonathan Watmough became managing partner of City firm RPC at just 38.
Over the next decade, he repositioned it through the global financial crisis, a shifting legal market and the rise of aggressive lateral hiring.
He stepped down in 2016, and has since worn several hats: performance coach, consultant and most recently, non-executive chair of the newly independent litigation specialist Rosenblatt.
He recently published How to Thrive in a Commercial Law Firm, a book gaining traction among mid-career lawyers and law firm leaders and which is all about helping lawyers make the most of their careers.
On The Non-Billable Podcast, we spoke with Jonathan about how lawyers misunderstand what clients actually buy, why most firms fail to differentiate and - naturally - how to thrive in a commercial law firm.
Listen to the full-length interview on the podcast. Episode page with links here.
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There was no master plan
Like many, Watmough fell into law without any particular intent. His trajectory - trainee (articled clerk back then) to managing partner by his late 30s - wasn’t fuelled by a strategic career roadmap.
"I'm not some sort of ambitious career junkie, quite the contrary”, he says. “I just saw opportunities were arising. And I just thought, yeah, that sounds like good fun. Why don't I just do that?"
That pattern of opportunity-led decision making, he suggests, only works in firms where upward mobility is merit-based and internal politics are minimal. RPC, in the early 2000s, fitted that profile.
Leadership in downturns: don’t follow the market
Watmough’s time as managing partner coincided with the 2008 financial crisis. While much of the UK legal market froze, RPC expanded. It wasn’t an accident.
"When other firms were looking inwards, we were looking outwards and saying we're growing", he says.
RPC didn’t have a large transactional practice vulnerable to a collapse in dealmaking. Instead, it leaned into its litigation business, lateral hiring and long-term differentiation. A quote he borrowed from Rahm Emanuel - "never let a good crisis go to waste" - became a guiding principle.
Key to that strategy: culture as a differentiator.
"Most law firms follow each other and they do the same types of things strategically", he explains.
"Competitive strategy is all about differentiation. We focused on being people-first. It was all about maximising and pulling out that people differentiation because really it's all about winning the war for talent in the recruitment market. And once that message started getting out there, then it becomes quite infectious."
Why the listed firm model isn’t working
Watmough is now non-exec chair of litigation specialist Rosenblatt, following its spin-out from RBG, whose collapse attracted headlines earlier this year. He was involved in the demerger.
He’s candid about the limitations of commercial law firms taking on external investment because relationships tend to be held by individual partners - something he sees as becoming even more common.
"The way that things have moved over the last 15 or 20 years is that relationships have been becoming much more personal, much more trust-based and held therefore by the individual partners."
As for private equity investment, he points to the lack of recurring, institutionalised client revenue as a red flag for investors, especially when compared to accounting firms, which are more service-line stable and repeatable.
Exceptions exist. Gateley is cited as one. But Watmough is sceptical of a broad market shift.
"A typical commercial law firm reinvents all of its work every year”, he says. “Absolutely everything gets replaced every year. Hardly any work is what PE would call a drum roll repeat business."
Client relationships have been becoming much more personal, much more trust-based and held therefore by the individual partners.
What lawyers think they’re selling - and what clients are actually buying
A core lesson of Watmough’s book is that most lawyers misunderstand what clients pay for.
"Lawyers think they’re selling solutions to legal problems,” he says. “But clients are buying commercial outcomes. They don’t care about the law - they just want their problem solved."
The difference matters. Legal knowledge is a given. What clients value is commercial judgment, speed and, above all, making their internal stakeholders’ lives easier.
Clients are buying commercial outcomes. They don’t care about the law - they just want their problem solved.
Soft skills are misnamed
Watmough argues that emotional intelligence and commerciality - often labelled as "soft skills" - are in fact hard differentiators in practice. Partners who lack them often stall. Associates who develop them early, on the other hand, thrive.
He frames this simply: "Being a high-functioning human being isn’t a soft skill. It’s a basic life skill."
One of the core takeaways from his coaching work is that too many lawyers assume that doing the work is enough. It isn’t.
"Most lawyers focus on the professional task at hand. And then when they get to 35, or so, they feel a bit aggrieved and surprised that it's been passed over for partnership."
Career progression: become a business, not just a lawyer
For junior partners and lawyers aiming at partnership, Watmough is clear: start thinking like a business owner. That means working on the business, not just in it.
"You have to stop being just a lawyer and start being a business person", he says.
"You are going into business. So you're no longer a service provider. You are actually developing and becoming a business in your own right.
"You have to make a decision: am I going to be just one of many who are simply good at the job or am I in business on my own account?"
Meanwhile, inside firms, he says, there’s an internal market many lawyers ignore that goes right up the hierarchy: trainees should aim to be stand out service providers to their supervisors, associates to their partners, and so on up the chain.
"You want to become an invaluable resource to people", he says.
By doing that, you start becoming a business in your own right internally, which should make you a success in the external - client-facing - market as well over time as things become second nature.
You have to make a decision: am I going to be just one of many who are simply good at the job or am I in business on my own account?
How to think about practice area selection
For trainees and early-career lawyers, Watmough recommends a structured approach to practice area selection.
In the book, he repurposes the BCG growth matrix: aim for "stars" (high-growth, high-value areas) or "cash cows" (established, profitable core practices). Avoid "pets" (low-growth, low-value areas), and think carefully about "problem children" (high-growth, low-value areas the firm could quickly lose interest in).
He acknowledges that the UK qualification system makes lateral moves between areas difficult, but not impossible. "If you’ve picked wrong, move. Trade down if you have to. But don’t stay stuck."
What most firms still don’t do
Asked what he’d change if he were managing partner today, Watmough doesn’t hesitate.
"Law firms focus very short term because it's an annual enterprise. It's what happens this year, it's what happens maybe next year”, he says “If there was one thing I could change, it would be getting firms to focus on the long-term strategic things and to invest for the long-term."
Final takeaways
On the one trait that separates great lawyers from good ones:
"Relationship skills. The ability to build really long-term trusting relationships, both with colleagues and clients, is the holy grail of success in law."
On junior lawyer career advice:
"Don't settle because it's a very long term career and you can spend a very long time being unhappy. If the choices you've made are not good ones, change them."
On what clients will want in five years:
"Not much will be different. But AI will be the most significant change - especially for in-house teams."
The ability to build really long-term trusting relationships, both with colleagues and clients, is the holy grail of success in law.
Law Firm | Trainee First Year | Trainee Second Year | Newly Qualified (NQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addleshaw Goddard | £52,000 | £56,000 | £100,000 |
| Akin Gump | £60,000 | £65,000 | £174,418 |
| A&O Shearman | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Ashurst | £52,000 | £57,000 | £125,000 |
| Baker McKenzie | £56,000 | £61,000 | £140,000 |
| Bird & Bird | £47,000 | £52,000 | £98,000 |
| Bristows | £46,000 | £50,000 | £88,000 |
| Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | £50,000 | £55,000 | £105,000 |
| Burges Salmon | £47,000 | £49,000 | £72,000 |
| Charles Russell Speechlys | £50,000 | £53,000 | £88,000 |
| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | £57,500 | £62,500 | £164,500 |
| Clifford Chance | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Clyde & Co | £47,000 | £49,500 | £85,000 |
| CMS | £50,000 | £55,000 | £110,000 |
| Cooley | £55,000 | £60,000 | £157,000 |
| Davis Polk | £65,000 | £70,000 | £170,000 |
| Debevoise | £55,000 | £60,000 | £173,000 |
| Dechert | £55,000 | £61,000 | £165,000 |
| Dentons | £50,000 | £54,000 | £100,000 |
| DLA Piper | £50,000 | £55,000 | £110,000 |
| Eversheds Sutherland | £46,000 | £50,000 | £100,000 |
| Farrer & Co | £47,000 | £49,000 | £88,000 |
| Fieldfisher | £48,500 | £52,000 | £95,000 |
| Freshfields | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Fried Frank | £55,000 | £60,000 | £175,000 |
| Gibson Dunn | £60,000 | £65,000 | £180,000 |
| Goodwin Procter | £55,000 | £60,000 | £175,000 |
| Gowling WLG | £48,500 | £53,500 | £98,000 |
| Herbert Smith Freehills | £56,000 | £61,000 | £135,000 |
| HFW | £50,000 | £54,000 | £100,000 |
| Hill Dickinson | £43,000 | £45,000 | £80,000 |
| Hogan Lovells | £56,000 | £61,000 | £135,000 |
| Irwin Mitchell | £43,000 | £45,000 | £76,000 |
| Jones Day | £56,000 | £65,000 | £160,000 |
| K&L Gates | £50,000 | £55,000 | £115,000 |
| Kennedys | £43,000 | £46,000 | £85,000 |
| King & Spalding | £55,000 | £60,000 | £165,000 |
| Kirkland & Ellis | £60,000 | £65,000 | £174,418 |
| Latham & Watkins | £60,000 | £65,000 | £174,418 |
| Linklaters | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Macfarlanes | £56,000 | £61,000 | £140,000 |
| Mayer Brown | £55,000 | £60,000 | £135,000 |
| McDermott Will & Emery | £65,000 | £70,000 | £174,418 |
| Milbank | £65,000 | £70,000 | £174,418 |
| Mills & Reeve | £45,000 | £47,000 | £82,000 |
| Mischon de Reya | £47,500 | £52,500 | £95,000 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | £50,000 | £55,000 | £135,000 |
| Orrick | £55,000 | £60,000 | £160,000 |
| Osborne Clarke | £54,500 | £56,000 | £94,000 |
| Paul Hastings | £60,000 | £68,000 | £173,000 |
| Paul Weiss | £55,000 | £60,000 | £180,000 |
| Penningtons Manches Cooper | £48,000 | £50,000 | £83,000 |
| Pinsent Masons | £49,500 | £54,000 | £97,000 |
| Quinn Emanuel | n/a | n/a | £180,000 |
| Reed Smith | £50,000 | £55,000 | £125,000 |
| Ropes & Gray | £60,000 | £65,000 | £165,000 |
| RPC | £46,000 | £50,000 | £90,000 |
| Shoosmiths | £43,000 | £45,000 | £97,000 |
| Sidley Austin | £60,000 | £65,000 | £175,000 |
| Simmons & Simmons | £52,000 | £57,000 | £120,000 |
| Skadden | £58,000 | £63,000 | £173,000 |
| Slaughter and May | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Squire Patton Boggs | £47,000 | £50,000 | £110,000 |
| Stephenson Harwood | £50,000 | £55,000 | £100,000 |
| Sullivan & Cromwell | £65,000 | £70,000 | £174,418 |
| Taylor Wessing | £50,000 | £55,000 | £115,000 |
| TLT | £44,000 | £47,500 | £85,000 |
| Travers Smith | £54,000 | £59,000 | £120,000 |
| Trowers & Hamlins | £45,000 | £49,000 | £80,000 |
| Vinson & Elkins | £60,000 | £65,000 | £173,077 |
| Watson Farley & Williams | £50,000 | £55,000 | £102,000 |
| Weightmans | £34,000 | £36,000 | £70,000 |
| Weil Gotshal & Manges | £60,000 | £65,000 | £170,000 |
| White & Case | £62,000 | £67,000 | £175,000 |
| Willkie Farr & Gallagher | £60,000 | £65,000 | £170,000 |
| Withers | £47,000 | £52,000 | £95,000 |
| Womble Bond Dickinson | £43,000 | £45,000 | £80,000 |
Rank | Law Firm | Revenue | Profit per Equity Partner (PEP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DLA Piper* | £3,010,000,000 | £2,400,000 |
| 2 | Clifford Chance | £2,300,000,000 | £2,040,000 |
| 3 | A&O Shearman | £2,200,000,000 | £2,200,000 |
| 4 | Hogan Lovells | £2,150,000,000 | £2,200,000 |
| 5 | Freshfields | £2,120,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 6 | Linklaters | £2,100,000,000 | £1,900,000 |
| 7 | Norton Rose Fulbright* | £1,800,000,000 | £1,100,000 |
| 8 | CMS** | £1,620,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 9 | Herbert Smith Freehills | £1,300,000,000 | £1,300,000 |
| 10 | Ashurst | £961,000,000 | £1,300,000 |
| 11 | Clyde & Co | £844,000,000 | £739,000 |
| 12 | Eversheds Sutherland | £749,000,000 | £1,300,000 |
| 13 | BCLP* | £661,000,000 | £748,000 |
| 14 | Pinsent Masons | £649,000,000 | £793,000 |
| 15 | Slaughter and May*** | £625,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 16 | Simmons & Simmons | £574,000,000 | £1,076,000 |
| 17 | Bird & Bird** | £545,000,000 | £696,000 |
| 18 | Addleshaw Goddard | £495,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 19 | Taylor Wessing | £480,000,000 | £915,000*** |
| 20 | Osborne Clarke** | £456,000,000 | £771,000 |
| 21 | Womble Bond Dickinson | £448,000,000 | £556,000 |
| 22 | DWF | £435,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 23 | Fieldfisher | £407,000,000 | £966,000 |
| 24 | Kennedys | £384,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 25 | DAC Beachcroft | £325,000,000 | £700,000 |
What do City lawyers actually do each day?
For a closer look at the day-to-day of some of the most common types of lawyers working in corporate law firms, explore our lawyer job profiles:
This is a condensed version of our full length interview with Jonathan Watmough on The Non-Billable Podcast. View the episode page here.
| Firm | London office since | Known for in London |
|---|---|---|
| Baker McKenzie | 1961 | Finance, capital markets, TMT |
| Davis Polk | 1972 | Leveraged finance, corporate/M&A |
| Gibson Dunn | 1979 | Private equity, arbitration, energy, resources and infrastructure |
| Goodwin | 2008 | Private equity, funds, life sciences |
| Kirkland & Ellis | 1994 | Private equity, funds, restructuring |
| Latham & Watkins | 1990 | Finance, private equity, capital markets |
| Milbank | 1979 | Finance, capital markets, energy, resources and infrastructure |
| Paul Hastings | 1997 | Leveraged finance, structured finance, infrastructure |
| Paul Weiss | 2001 | Private equity, leveraged finance |
| Quinn Emanuel | 2008 | Litigation |
| Sidley Austin | 1974 | Leveraged finance, capital markets, corporate/M&A |
| Simpson Thacher | 1978 | Leveraged finance, private equity, funds |
| Skadden | 1988 | Finance, corporate/M&A, arbitration |
| Weil | 1996 | Restructuring, private equity, leverage finance |
| White & Case | 1971 | Capital markets, arbitration, energy, resources and infrastructure |
| Law firm | Type | First-year salary |
|---|---|---|
| White & Case | US firm | £32,000 |
| Stephenson Harwood | International | £30,000 |
| A&O Shearman | Magic Circle | £28,000 |
| Charles Russell Speechlys | International | £28,000 |
| Freshfields | Magic Circle | £28,000 |
| Herbert Smith Freehills | Silver Circle | £28,000 |
| Hogan Lovells | International | £28,000 |
| Linklaters | Magic Circle | £28,000 |
| Mishcon de Reya | International | £28,000 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | International | £28,000 |
Law Firm | Trainee First Year | Trainee Second Year | Newly Qualified (NQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A&O Shearman | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Clifford Chance | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Linklaters | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Slaughter and May | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
Law Firm | Trainee First Year | Trainee Second Year | Newly Qualified (NQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A&O Shearman | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Clifford Chance | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Linklaters | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Slaughter and May | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
Law Firm | Trainee First Year | Trainee Second Year | Newly Qualified (NQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashurst | £52,000 | £57,000 | £125,000 |
| Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | £50,000 | £55,000 | £105,000 |
| Herbert Smith Freehills | £56,000 | £61,000 | £135,000 |
| Macfarlanes | £56,000 | £61,000 | £140,000 |
| Travers Smith | £54,000 | £59,000 | £120,000 |
| Firm | Merger year | Known for in London |
|---|---|---|
| BCLP | 2018 | Real estate, corporate/M&A, litigation |
| DLA Piper | 2005 | Corporate/M&A, real estate, energy, resources and infrastructure |
| Eversheds Sutherland | 2017 | Corporate/M&A, finance |
| Hogan Lovells | 2011 | Litigation, regulation, finance |
| Mayer Brown | 2002 | Finance, capital markets, real estate |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | 2013 | Energy, resources and infrastructure, insurance, finance |
| Reed Smith | 2007 | Shipping, finance, TMT |
| Squire Patton Boggs | 2011 | Corporate/M&A, pensions, TMT |
Law Firm | Trainee First Year | Trainee Second Year | Newly Qualified (NQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashurst | £52,000 | £57,000 | £125,000 |
| Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | £50,000 | £55,000 | £105,000 |
| Herbert Smith Freehills | £56,000 | £61,000 | £135,000 |
| Macfarlanes | £56,000 | £61,000 | £140,000 |
| Travers Smith | £54,000 | £59,000 | £120,000 |
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