The new CBP managing partner shares how he and his predecessor handled the leadership transition
Earlier this month, Dr Andrew Murray officially succeeded Nick Crennan as the managing partner of Colin Biggers & Paisley (CBP). Having spent a little over a year preparing for the role as deputy managing partner, Murray takes on his new mantle with a willingness to observe, to engage with curiosity, and to understand.
In the first part of this interview with Australasian Lawyer, Murray tells us about the point at which he began to seriously consider leading the firm, and what he’s grateful to his predecessor for.
Was the managing partner position something that you had been actively working towards, or did your selection as the firm’s eventual leader come as a surprise?
It was never on my radar. In fact, it's a most unorthodox step for a lawyer and one that there is rarely a formal path towards, not least because it typically involves a complete pivot away from legal practice.
I only seriously began to contemplate it after Nick Crennan announced his decision to step down from the role and a number of my fellow partners asked me to accept the nomination for the position deputy managing partner. At Colin Biggers & Paisley, succession is managed through a deliberate process. A deputy is nominated by other partners, elected in a whole of partnership vote, spends twelve months transitioning across to the role and, subject to a further vote of all partners, assumes the position of Managing Partner. It's an incredibly rigorous but highly effective process and I'm grateful to the practice for the investment it makes in succession.
My background working in various areas of the law in which Colin Biggers & Paisley specialises, including construction, commercial litigation, insurance and insolvency and restructuring, placed me in good stead. Most importantly, I valued the experience of serving on various committees and actively participating in the broader life of the practice, which helped me to forge close relationships across teams and offices.
You became deputy managing partner in August last year – what in your opinion was the most impactful lesson you learned in that time?
Law firms, like most professional services organisations, are complex ecosystems. One of the greatest advantages to having the transitional role of deputy managing partner is that it allows you to take the time to sit back and observe how the whole functions. It was an opportunity to spend time with each of our partners and all our groups across our three offices to discuss the future and our strategic direction. I was also given a timely masterclass in a range of disciplines from our corporate operations group leadership and teams.
The most impactful lesson was the importance of taking the time to observe, to engage with curiosity, and to understand, before jumping in - and even more importantly, knowing when not to jump in. This is still very much a work in progress.
You and Nick worked together on the succession plan – what was the most important thing you learned from him?
I am grateful to Nick for his guidance and trust. He is a wonderfully thoughtful and empathetic mentor. One comes to a role like this with a thousand ideas and impulses. In addition to all the joint briefings and meetings we had, he carved out an hour a week for us to spend time together discussing the practice, the role, the transition, strategy and policy. It was the robust discussions and debates we had during that time that helped me the most in articulating and refining ideas.
I don't think that there was one notion I came in with that wasn't somehow enhanced or improved through that sort of open engagement and dialogue. Being curious, forthright and engaged in subjecting ideas to that sort of scrutiny - that remains one of the most important things I've come away with.
