Ten years of DT Economics: A fireside chat with David Thomas

This August marks ten years since David Thomas set up DT Economics. To mark it, our newest consultant, Yash Pandya, sat down to ask David a few questions.

 

Yash: How did it feel to leave a Big Four partnership to set up on your own?

Running the global economics practice at a Big Four firm was a huge honour and privilege, and a great success. A restructuring of the firm made it the right time to look for a fresh challenge. I talked to a few competitors but decided that being in control mattered more to me than joining another brand.

Yash: What did that “in control” aspect actually feel like when you did it?

Pretty daunting, if I’m honest. You’re giving up a powerful brand, a network built over many years, and colleagues with every skill you could call on to win and deliver work for clients across the globe. But you’re also giving up the reporting lines, the systems and controls, and the conflicts of interest that meant you couldn’t take on certain work because the firm was already involved with that client, or that matter somewhere else. It’s a trade, real benefits for real costs. There’s a financial contrast too though: at DTE, the revenue has to be there before you invest in the team, whereas at KPMG there was more scope to invest ahead of revenue, within reason. Striking out on my own was the one way to keep the best of what I was leaving and shape it into something that actually suited the business I wanted to build.

Yash: What was the moment DTE stopped being “David’s practice” and became a firm?

Securing a major mandate to be economic adviser to the CEO of a Middle Eastern telecoms operator, which allowed me to ask Sean to join as a partner. I’d known Sean since KPMG, and it felt natural to rebuild that partnership. That’s when there were two of us sharing responsibility for the business, even though the team itself was still small.

Yash: What do you and Sean intentionally protect, even if it costs growth?

We stay hands-on. Plenty of firms run on a pyramid, where partners sell the work and the clients barely see them again. We still roll up our sleeves. Our finance director has made that possible too, keeping tight financial control for the whole ten years, which let Sean and me focus on clients. This structure also helps us maintain high quality in the work we deliver to our clients.

Yash: Are there any cases that still stick with you, and why?

I suppose it was a dispute between two mobile phone operators in Liberia, over a campaign of cyber-attacks on one of their networks. The claim came in at around $50 million. Watching the judge come down at roughly $4 million, within the range I’d argued for, on a genuine win for the client, is the kind of moment that reminds you why the detail matters. The other side had a go at my independence during cross-examination too. However, the judge rejected that firmly, finding that any combativeness reflected the strength of my professional conviction, not loyalty to the client. Being tested on that and coming through it is its own kind of satisfaction.

Yash: What do you value most about the people who have joined?

How readily you have all made a future here and thrown yourselves into it, treating a small firm like a big one. Genuinely excellent work in service of our clients and looking after each other while doing it. It’s a properly collaborative group, and a fun one to be part of.

Yash: What would you tell someone one year out of university, or still finishing their degree, that isn’t so obvious from the outside?

You get a chance to contribute to every part of the business, not just project work. Recruitment, networking events, drafting proposals, presenting to clients. That range comes far earlier here than it would somewhere larger.

David: You were in that position a year ago. What’s your view?

Yash: A year in, I would say the range of opportunities is far wider than I expected as a university student. I have drafted proposal sections that went out to clients, worked directly with you and Sean on pieces of analysis, and even had the chance to go abroad for client meetings on a dispute case. None of that was in my mental picture during a first year in economic consulting.

Yash: It seems that more economists are choosing to freelance rather than take a full-time role, earlier than they used to. Does that change what DTE offers?

We see freelancers as an extension of our core team, not a separate group. Contractor or employee is just a question of contractual status, not how central someone is to what we do. Plenty of our subcontractors have worked with us across multiple years, which speaks to loyalty in both directions and the fact that people keep coming back. We offer the chance to work on projects that genuinely interest you, fitting around your existing commitments, alongside a team you enjoy working with time and again. Freelancing gives you flexibility. We try to give that and a team worth coming back to.

Yash: How would you describe the quality and range of the work here?

We do the full range, from small pro bono analysis of regulation in micro-states through to multi-billion dollar international disputes. At the top end, one arbitration had around twenty of us working on it at its peak, totalling some 16,000 hours. Along the way, we’re regularly up against some of the most recognised names in the market.

Yash: What's been the most challenging aspect or moment at DTE, and how did the firm get through it?

A judge or tribunal deciding against the client and legal team that instructed you. As an independent expert your duty is to the court, not the client, and that’s non-negotiable. But when the decision goes the other way, it’s still hard, because you’ve put real conviction into that opinion and you know what it means for the people who engaged you. There’s also the harder, quieter challenge of running a firm this size: no large balance sheet behind you, no safety net if a quarter goes badly. You get through both the same way, by doing the next piece of work properly and trusting that consistency compounds. It’s also why having Sean and David alongside me has mattered so much. Difficult periods are much easier to sit with when you’re not sitting with them alone.

Yash: What would you say to someone thinking about setting out on their own, or working towards partnership somewhere like DTE?

Have faith in your own abilities. Take your time to build your presence in the market. Be prepared for some hard knocks early on. But keep going. If you enjoy it, others will too, and that enthusiasm rubs off on clients and colleagues alike. Work hard.

Yash: Ten years on, how different is DTE today to the firm you sketched out in 2016, and what would that version of DTE think of the firm today?

Bigger and more structured than I would have predicted, if I'm honest. The 2016 firm was thinking about one or two years ahead, not ten. It would recognise the values, the hands-on approach, the refusal to build a pyramid, but I don't think it would have pictured three equity partners, a panel of specialists this size, or disputes work running into the billions across five continents. I'd like to think it would be quietly pleased that the things it cared about most are still the things we care about most. 

Yash: Where does DTE go from here and what’s still unresolved for the next ten years?

Making sure the firm doesn’t depend on the existing partners alone. Bringing in new partners and giving people like you room to build a career here matters more than any of us individually.

Yash: Were there any other names considered aside from DT Economics?

Not really, and not in a particularly considered way. DT Economics just felt simple and right for the time. It's travelled well over the first ten years. However, we are looking to update the branding for the firm. Watch out for updates on this over the next few months.

Yash: Any closing thoughts?

My pedantry. We’re small but we hold ourselves to market leading quality standards, and I will absolutely pull someone up on a sentence that isn’t quite right. It’s a habit, but it’s also the brand.

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