After a year of global uncertainty, Babbé has reassessed its core business lines and has given the senior leadership team a new look.
Managing Partner Andrew Laws has moved into the role of Senior Partner and Nick Robison (shown in the main picture) has taken on the position of Managing Partner.
For 18 years, management of Babbé’s relationships with its clients and its employees was overseen by Andrew Laws. Due to the demands of the past 12 months, Babbé has adjusted its approach to managing those relationships by dividing the role previously performed by Andrew into two roles: one that focuses on Babbé’s relationships with its clients and other intermediaries, and one that focuses on its internal relationships and on management of the firm’s day-to-day operations.
It was in those circumstances that, on 1st June 2021, Andrew Laws moved into the role of Senior Partner to focus his energy on Babbé’s client relationships, and Nick Robison, joint head with Todd McGuffin of the firm’s dispute resolution team, moved into the role of Managing Partner.
The moves are directed at positioning Babbé as Guernsey’s leader in client relationships, a mantra that Andrew and Nick wholeheartedly endorse.
“The most important parts of our business are our people and their relationships, both internally and externally. Over the past decade, the firm’s dispute resolution team has cemented itself as a market leader in this area. During the past twelve months we have spent a great deal of time and energy looking at how to service our clients in other areas of the business,” said Advocate Laws.
“In doing so, we recognised the need to invest in our other core offerings so that they too would enjoy the same level of market prominence and provide the same level of client service. We have already invested significantly in our corporate team, with the recruitment last year of Tristan Ozanne, and are looking to recruit further in that team now. As part of our strategic objective to be Guernsey’s leader in client relationships, I am reducing my management commitments and instead focusing on growing the private client and trust team.”
Advocate Robison said: “We have made a number of strategic decisions over the past 12 months in order that the firm is well positioned for the next five years. Andrew has been invaluable to those decisions and we are grateful to him for fulfilling this role and for his fantastic contribution over 18 years as Managing Partner. Andrew has a great reputation, both locally and further afield, and it seemed obvious that we should harness the relationships behind it by allowing him to refocus on client-servicing.”
Among other moves within the firm, Advocate Rob Fullman has been promoted to the role of Counsel, and Kirthi Kalyan has been promoted to Managing Associate.
“Rob and Kirthi have both contributed significantly to the dispute resolution team’s success. It was only right that their contributions were recognised. Rob has been with the firm for many years and is an expert on technical areas of Guernsey-focused litigation. He is a real leader in that area. Kirthi, while newer to the firm, has been an outstanding recruit; she is technically excellent, hard-working and enjoys great relationships with clients and colleagues alike. Both are hugely important to the ongoing success of the team,” said Advocate Robison.
