It’s essential that I know what is happening in the world and the business environment. Understanding what is going on and the various trends and the markets in which we operate is incredibly important as part of our professional armoury.
Partner, Simmons & Simmons
Providing smart business solutions for a global client base
Originally founded in London over 125 years ago, Simmons & Simmons now operates on a global scale with 22 offices worldwide. The international law firm specialises in asset management and investments funds, financial institutions, healthcare and life sciences, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.
All teams in the firm require specialist skill sets and a strong commercial awareness of their clients needs and industries. By focusing on smart business solutions for their client base, the firm grounds its approach by having a collaborative international team.
An FT Professional Subscription equips all Simmons & Simmons employees with news and insights to strengthen their commercial awareness, helping to give clients certainty around complex business challenges.
Gaining global knowledge with cross-border coverage
In order to understand the markets its clients operate in, the firm needs broad knowledge across different industries and countries. With companywide access to FT.com, the teams at Simmons & Simmons obtain an in-depth level of news, insights and original analysis not found elsewhere.
Based in Hong Kong, Jolyon Ellwood-Russell is a Partner at Simmons & Simmons. He’s a transactional banking lawyer and specialises in secured lending and trade, receivables and commodity finance.
When working closely with his clients around the world, Jolyon explains that he prioritises increasing his level of global knowledge. “You always have to cover a lot of ground,” he explains “With good insights we talk about what's on the horizon, what our clients are doing, and ultimately share knowledge.”
Through the FT, the teams at Simmons & Simmons can discover unbiased, cross-border stories as well as analysis into how different news events around the world can impact each other. “I get a sense of what's going on in the wider international scene and world perspective,” Jolyon explains. “The FT keeps me more connected with the world and what's going on around me.”
The FT has over 600 journalists worldwide who connect the dots between news events. In turn, all viewpoints of a story are captured and help enhance readers' understanding of global events.
Developing commercial awareness
Having a strong sense of commercial awareness helps teams make more informed decisions and evaluate industry opportunities and risks. Jolyon and colleagues at Simmons & Simmons use FT.com to stay on top of world, business and industry news to enhance their commercial awareness.
With an FT Professional Subscription, Jolyon receives the most up to date business and financial information. “If you need commercial awareness, you need to read the FT everyday.” He explains. “It's important to get a feel for what is going on in the market, then being able to apply that information to specific legal or financial challenges my clients are facing.”
By having strong commercial awareness, teams can confidently guide clients through risks and maximise opportunities. The FT helps organisations like Simmons & Simmons discover what is driving markets, as well as understanding big emerging themes.
We are always on the lookout for new trends to go out to clients with. If new regulations or financial market updates come in, the FT will pick up on it. The FT highlights uncertainty and we can then help our clients to navigate that.
Partner, Simmons & Simmons
Whether someone is a new graduate entering the workplace or a seasoned professional, the importance of being commercially aware remains high. Jolyon points out that, “you’re not born with any business information, so you’ve got to go find it from somewhere.” He adds that, “whether it's acronyms or how clients work, whether it's understanding regulatory bodies or discovering what our competitors are doing, you need to absorb this information.”
Securing client relationships with actionable insights
To provide maximum client support and to meet expectations, client-facing teams are relied upon to not only have a strong commercial awareness but also the foresight to utilise the insights they read about.
When asked about supporting his own clients, Jolyon explained that, “we speak to a lot of clients in many different environments.” He adds. “When meeting with them it's important to be able to speak generally as well as having deeper knowledge around the market environment and what’s going on today.”
The FT is pervasive and gives me a deeper knowledge of the financial industry. In that it gives me that deeper knowledge, to be able to feel confident to talk to clients about almost anything.
Partner, Simmons & Simmons
Aside from providing Jolyon and the teams at Simmons & Simmons with deeper industry knowledge, an FT Professional Subscription gives readers access to in-depth analysis of top global news stories. Jolyon explains that, “as lawyers we sell certainty and sometimes the FT highlights uncertainty, and we help our clients find a balance with that.” The FT’s analysis highlights industry trends and actionable insights to help support client’s business needs.
Jolyon recognises that, “we are trusted business advisors, and therefore clients expect us to know what is going on in the wider world, and then the wider business environment.” By using an FT Professional Subscription, Jolyon and his colleagues can remain knowledgeable and help clients make better informed business decisions.
An FT Professional Subscription extracts the intelligence that’s relevant to your business and delivers it via the media and technologies that suit you best, saving you time and keeping you informed on what matters.
Request a free trial today and see how our award-winning journalism, from 600 journalists across the globe, can help you and your team make informed decisions and reach your goals faster.