Spotlight: RedLaw interviews...Douglas Hambleton, Operating Shareholder, Vedder Price LLP

Changes, challenges, passions; we chatted to Douglas Hambleton, Operating Shareholder at Vedder Price about all of this, who inspires him and much more.

Doug, you have been with Vedder Price for over 37 years. You are OperatingShareholder and a member of the Board of Directors. What have been the biggest changes you have seen for the Firm over your time here?

When I began my legal career with Vedder Price, the firm had offices in Chicago and New York and had been established as a labor and employment law firm. In the years since then, we have grown into an international law firm with seven offices in three countries, and we have built best-in-class practices, including an internationally-recognized transportation finance group and a top middle market M&A/PE practice. The technological advances in the legal industry have been exciting to see develop as well. Some things have not changed, like the quality of the people who work at Vedder Price, and that there are many of us who stay with the firm for our entire careers.

What parts of your job are you most passionate about and which brings you most satisfaction?

I travel to all of our US and international offices regularly, sometimes more frequently as new initiatives arise. I enjoy the opportunity to speak in person with all of our lawyers and staff. While Vedder Price is truly one firm, rather than a collection of offices, each office has its own identity, which is great to see. It is very satisfying to watch talented and hard working people realize their potential over time, from organic growth where junior lawyers advance in their careers to become our established partners, as well as lawyers who join us laterally and build and expand their practices here. Vedder Price is an incredible platform on which to grow a practice, and I really enjoy welcoming new lawyers to the firm and seeing them thrive. We have a great legal recruiting team that makes the entire process seamless.

The Firm employs over 300 lawyers across offices in Chicago, New York, Washington, DC, London, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Singapore. How does Vedder Price ensure that the working culture and management are consistent across the entire network of offices?

We believe strongly in our “OneFirm” initiative. Members of our Board of Directors and senior Management team visit our offices on a regular basis so that everyone at the Firm receives the same opportunity for in-person dialogue and feedback. We’re proud of our culture and values, and one key element that we believe sets us apart is our transparency. We share information freely within the firm, including financial and compensation information, and our shareholders feel and act like true owners of our business. The “OneFirm” means that we do not assign separate overhead or capital by office, nor do we do separate financial accounting by office.

At 300 lawyers, we have the heft to support incredibly sophisticated practices, yet we are small enough to be able to share information freely and maintain a true sense of firm.


There is a 14 member Board of Directors leading Vedder Price. What are the main challenges ahead for the firm in 2019 and onwards and how do you expect the Firm to develop in order to address these?

All firms face some common challenges in the current legal market, such as attracting and developing great associates and partners and keeping up with technological change. Some smaller and midsize firms are merging to address these challenges. Our plan calls for continued smart, incremental growth and on strengthening our core competencies and recognized specialties. Our management and fiscal approach is steady and conservative. This long-term view allows us to weather ups and downs in the legal market and the economy at large.

Doug, you spend your time working in both the US and the UK. How does the legal sector in the US differ to that in the UK? What would you say are the biggest differences?

A number of years ago, the differences were more apparent in the terms of firm structure, lawyer training and the like, but the legal market has become so much more global that those differences are much less noticeable. Our offices in London and Singapore were opened by partners in our Global Transportation Finance practice, which allowed us to start strongly with an extension of a current and successful practice group, and then build out additional capabilities from there. The majority of that group’s client base is global.

Diversity is one of your core values and is integral in the way in which you run the firm. What makes Vedder Price unique in its offerings to lawyers and other professionals wishing to work, or already working, within the legal sector?

We are very proud of our diversity initiatives and our trajectory in this area as the legal market as a whole evolves and makes strides in this regard. Many firms have now put in place programs to recruit diverse lawyers at the junior levels, but lag behind in terms of retention and promotion. That is an area for continued emphasis. Women hold key roles in Vedder Price’s Board of Directors and senior Management team, and have been a significant percentage of our new partnership admissions (60% last year).

Who is the most inspirational person you have met and how did they inspire you /what lessons did you learn from them?

Whoever it was who coined the phrase, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” That captures my idea of a career in law. Lawyers at the beginning stages of their careers, and even afterwards, can focus too heavily on the short term, whether it be maximizing performance in the current year or short-term compensation. The most successful lawyers do the things now that will make them successful in the future, such as working first to become great lawyers, building professional relationships and longterm professional and business development initiatives.