The co-founder of Ogier's Luxembourg office, Daniel Richards, recently featured in top industry publication Leaders League. In the interview, he explains why the firm is unique­ly placed to apply a global perspective to Luxembourg as a leading inter­national investment domicile.

How would you describe Ogier's Luxem­bourg offering?

Since our launch we have delivered out­standing, compound, year-on-year growth, significantly outstripping organic growth rates. We have within our Luxembourg team many dual-qualified lawyers who bring a wealth of international experience in their individual disciplines, delivering excellent client service at the levels required by international, institutional clients.

We act for market-leading and upper-mid market asset managers based in the US, Asia and Europe - we also act in conjunc­tion with, and as trusted Luxembourg part­ner to, leading global law firms, particular­ly firms headquartered in North America.

Since the opening of our Luxembourg office in 2012 we have grown from two partners to eight and, importantly, we have been able to promote half of those from within, demon­strating the strength in depth of our position in the Luxembourg market.

How has the Ogier team been impacted by the pandemic?

Our investment in people and technology  enabled us to deliver continuous client service. Long before the pandemic hit, we were providing flexible working arrangements for our people and making sure we had the technology and culture to make them happen, so in that sense the important elements were already in place. In the absence of technological and cultural obstacles to remote working, people's wellbeing can take its rightful place, front and centre. We witnessed regular check-ins, not just from managers but other team members, in a concerted effort to make sure people stayed connected across the firm. This included regular internal communications designed to provide reassurance and keep everyone informed.

How does Luxembourg fit into the wider Ogier offering?

In the same way that Luxembourg fits into the broader picture where internation­al capital flows – that could be Asian in­vestors looking at UK real estate assets and using Luxembourg as a bridge between Asia and London, or using Cayman and Luxembourg as a bridge from the US – the firm as a whole is structured to provide differ­ent bridges across the world for investors.

Internally, we take a service-line approach, coordinating our efforts across different of­fices, so that we are fully aligned in terms of our documents, our work and our approach across the jurisdictions in which we operate. In this way clients can feel confident that they will receive the same high quality of service wherever they and their interests are located.

In terms of how we work, François Pfister as our Luxembourg senior partner contin­ues to play a key role with us not just in client relationships, but also in developing and mentoring new colleagues and part­ners as our team continues to grow rapidly.

What does the future hold for the team?

Our aim is to continue our strong growth as a positive contributor to the Lux­embourg place financière.

Our move here in 2012 was bold and inno­vative, and one of the particularly pleasing aspects of our growth has been the con­tinuing sense of freshness and dynamism which characterised our start-up phase, continuing now into the mature business characterised by the established critical mass of our team and market position.

The firm has made a strong commitment to being a progressive, responsible member of the global community. We have pushed forwards globally and locally with a root and branch Diversity and Inclusion initiative and with our focus on environmental social and governance (ESG), both as an offering externally for clients and as a focus internally for the firm. Our goal is to be the firm of the future, a place where people can build meaningful, interesting careers and where their progression and wellbeing are valued, and where, collectively, we can make a positive contribution in our local and global communities.