SJ Interview: Paul Marco

Paul Marco is Managing Partner of Trowers & Hamlins, an international law firm with 11 offices spanning the UK, the Gulf and Southeast Asia. A property litigation specialist with over 30 years' experience, Paul has advised institutions, private companies, entrepreneurial investors and retailers on a broad range of real estate disputes, and is consistently recommended in the leading legal directories. He first joined Trowers from Halliwells, where he had served as national head of property litigation, and was re-elected as sole Managing Partner in 2026 alongside the firm's unveiling of a new structure to underpin its 2030 growth strategy. In this interview, Paul reflects on the career experiences that have shaped his leadership style, explores how client expectations and dispute resolution have evolved, and shares his views on the challenges and opportunities, from maintaining firm culture across global offices to the transformative potential of AI, facing mid-sized international law firms today.

Q: You started in property litigation — how has that background shaped the way you lead the firm today?

A: I think litigation generally gives you quite a practical lens on business. You're dealing with challenges, looking to avoid problems where relationships, risk and commercial outcomes matter just as much as (or often more than) the legal analysis. It's an opportunity to take a step back, look at that overarching position and weigh up the risks. Inevitably, it teaches you to stay calm under pressure, listen before forming a view, and focus on problem solving and resolution rather than just being right. I think all of that is very relevant to a leadership role.

Q: What are the biggest changes you've seen in property disputes over the past two decades?

A: The pace and complexity of disputes generally has increased enormously, and property disputes have been part of that trend. Clients are operating in a far more regulated, data-driven and commercially pressurised environment than they were two decades ago. There's been a shift in client expectations, clients want lawyers who understand the commercial context immediately, that bigger picture view, and who can give clear strategic advice as well as technical analysis. They don't want the technical analysis in isolation; they want perspective on how it fits into achieving the commercial outcome they want.

There's also been a large shift towards alternative forms of dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration and various other forms are now encouraged, sometimes mandated, by the courts. That has provided an opportunity for practitioners who are commercially aligned with their clients' objectives to showcase wider commercial skills. Courts and clients alike now expect greater efficiency and responsiveness, and that has changed the way disputes are managed and delivered.

Q: What skills from litigation do you think are most valuable in firm leadership?

A: If you're running a large dispute headed towards trial or arbitration, you need to lean into a number of different skill sets that are quite transferable. You have to be forensically well organised, handling different witnesses of fact, expert witnesses, different categories of documentation and evidence. But alongside that forensic organisation, you have to build trust relationships with clients and witnesses, for whom the court process may be entirely unfamiliar. Then there's the commercial acumen of negotiating for your client, often in the run-up to a trial.

Bringing together that wide variety of skill sets, always under time pressure and under the expectation of clients, it's great for the adrenaline and energising. But looking back, it also imbues you with skill sets that become very valuable in a leadership role.

Q: Trowers has been evolving its structure, what prompted that shift, and what impact are you hoping to see?

A: It's evolution rather than anything revolutionary, for sure. It came about as a result of the growth of the firm in terms of size and complexity — new office openings, fairly strong growth across all of our practice areas and jurisdictions. With that comes a wider range of issues to deal with, but also an increasing need to provide integrated answers, whether that's integrated advice for clients or quick responses for the business on a recruitment decision or a strategic investment.

The rationale behind the governance restructure is faster decision making and greater collaboration across disciplines and geographies. We need to be as agile and collaborative as we can be, whilst keeping client needs front of mind, and the structural changes are intended to serve those objectives.

Q: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing mid-sized international firms in the current legal market?

A: It's a very mature, congested and competitive market. One of the challenges is to differentiate oneself and remain distinctive. I wouldn't be in the business of trying to imitate the largest global firms. We have to be clear about where we add value and what clients genuinely come to us for, focusing on the markets and sectors where we have a distinctive offering, whether by virtue of our geographical footprint, our international presence in the GCC and Southeast Asia alongside our four UK offices, or our genuinely partner-led commercial service.

Beyond that, a major challenge which I suspect every Managing Partner would share: maintaining culture whilst continuing to grow internationally. All law firms will say culture is important, and it is a real strength here at Trowers. One needs to be sure to preserve and enhance that, even as the firm continues to grow.

Q: How do you balance maintaining technical excellence with the increasing commercial pressures on law firms?

A: Technical excellence is the starting point, it's a given. But referencing what I was just talking about in terms of culture, I look for people who are collaborative and commercially minded, people who are curious and genuinely invested in clients and colleagues. The ability to build trust relationships is a key quality, and I think it matters much earlier in one's career now than it might have done historically.

Adaptability is also important. The profession is changing rapidly, like every professional services sector, and lawyers who thrive will be those who continue learning, are able to embrace change, and think broadly about the role they play for clients and for the firm. That balance, deep technical grounding allied with commercial awareness, is really what we're looking for.

I look for people who are collaborative, commercially minded, curious and genuinely invested in clients and colleagues. The ability to build trust relationships with both clients and colleagues is a key quality, and it matters much earlier in one's career now than it might have done historically.

Adaptability is important too. The profession is changing rapidly, and lawyers who thrive will be those who continue learning, embrace change and think broadly about the role they play for clients and for the firm. Those are the qualities one has to look for.

Q: How is client demand changing, particularly in real estate and disputes work?

A: It's not getting any less demanding. Clients want the greatest certainty at the greatest speed. They want lawyers who can get to the heart of the issue quickly, cut through complexity quickly, and provide commercially workable solutions.

In the real estate world, market conditions have created quite a bit of focus on risk management, restructuring and strategic asset management decisions. Clients are being more selective about when they litigate and when they settle, but they're very focused on outcomes, cost and reputational impact. There's also much more demand nowadays for lawyers who demonstrate sector understanding, not just advising from a legal silo. That market knowledge is fundamentally important.

Q: What role do you think technology and AI will realistically play in firms like Trowers and the broader legal sector over the next five years?

A: I think it's probably five weeks or five months rather than five years — I'm not sure anyone can get their head around where we might be by then. AI is already changing some parts of legal delivery, particularly around process, efficiencies and information management. The potential to remove more routine work and allow lawyers to focus on strategic and advisory aspects of practice is enormous.

The key for us, and I would suggest for a number of firms, is aligning your AI strategy with the strategy of the firm. The temptation and the risk is to focus on which AI products to buy and which licences to get, but that decision has to be led by your firm strategy. What clients and markets do we want to grow? Once you've decided on that, your AI strategy can facilitate it and follow it.

Personally, I don't think clients are going to be looking for less human judgment. If anything, as the technology accelerates, trusted judgment and relationships will become even more valuable. AI legal tech is here to stay, that's a good thing. The firms that succeed will be those that use it thoughtfully, not just to reduce cost but to improve client service and add insight and consistency, while continuing to invest in their people.

Q: What would you advise someone starting a legal career today, especially in property litigation?

A: Build relationships as early as you can, with colleagues, intermediaries and prospective clients. Increasingly, the market will place a premium on lawyers who are able to build trusted relationships both internally and externally, and leverage those to build a successful, sustainable practice.

Curiosity is key. Intellectual curiosity, especially in the earlier phases of one's career, is really important and valuable. And whilst you're in those earlier stages, just immerse yourself in the businesses you're acting for, because that is where you'll get the market intelligence that will help you stand out. Too many lawyers are still slightly inclined to operate in a silo of technical excellence, but technical excellence alone, rather than allied with commerciality, curiosity and relationship-building skills, is not enough. Those qualities together are really what will make the difference, and are what we're looking for as we continue to grow and nurture the talent we have here at the firm.