Braxton Lawyers International

Legal Structure and Ownership

Braxton Lawyers International Ltd is a company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in
England & Wales. It is owned by its members, all of whom hold an equal interest in the legal
entity.
Braxton Lawyers International does not itself provide professional services, advice, or opinions to
clients but acts as a member services organisation. Client services are delivered nationally by
the independent member firms of Braxton Lawyers International.
Each member firm is a separate and independent legal entity. Each firm is locally owned,
operated and managed, and is responsible for its own liabilities. No single firm is responsible
for the services or actions of another, not does any firm enter into profit/loss sharing
arrangements with another member firm or Braxton Lawyers International.
Although many member firms take the Braxton name, there is no common ownership
amongst the firms.

Funding
The cost of co-ordinating the network is funded by member firms.
Each year Braxton Lawyers International draws up its budget for the coming year. The budget
covers the costs of meeting the strategy of the network, including the activities of the board,
regional chairs and regional executives, and the activities of the headquarters team (currently
based in London). The budget is submitted to the board of directors for approval.
Income derives from three sources:
 A one off joining fee – calculated on a sliding scale according to member firm
revenues
 Annual dues – calculated on a sliding scale according to member firm revenues
 Referral fees – a percentage of the fees received from work introduced by another
member firm.

Management and Governance
Braxton Lawyers International operates with a board of 15 directors. Board members are senior
partners drawn from member firms across the network and are democratically elected by
members worldwide for a three-year term. The board of directors appoints the chair from
amongst its members.

The highest decision making body within the network, the international board, has ultimate
responsibility for upholding the values, standards and procedures of Braxton Lawyers International,
sets the strategy that the network will follow, and appoints the CEO (see below). On the
recommendation of the CEO and regional advisory councils (see below), the board is
responsible for admitting member firms and, where necessary, terminating a firm’s
membership. The board meets at least twice annually.

The CEO is responsible to the board of directors for all matters relating to the day-to-day
leadership and management of Braxton Lawyers International, and ultimately to the member firms.
The CEO is supported by a team at headquarters which provides advice and resources to
member firms worldwide. These are wide ranging and include international marketing and
business development initiatives, technical support and the co-ordination of a global
secondment programme.
For managerial purposes, the network operates geographically through four regions – North
America; Latin America; Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Asia Pacific. Each region has
a chair who leads an advisory council made up of partners from regional members. Each
chair is supported by a regional executive. The chair’s role includes the co-ordination and
development of business between members, the recruitment of new firms as necessary and
the implementation of the regional strategy. The regional chairs are appointed by and report
to the CEO.
The network has a number of internally and externally focused collaborative committees and
specialist interest groups. Participation in these committees is voluntary.