The Law Firm, his latest wheeze, is an aggregation of independent agencies dotted all over the world, from Makati City to Mexico, held together via franchise deals. Only two agencies in the group, in the UK and US, are wholly-owned.
Partner agencies (known as nodes) pay a franchise fee, adopt the Law name and backend processes, and — in theory — get a share of global and regional business, although no clients have been announced to date.
The network, says Law, will provide clients with "open source creativity" — access to top talent, free of the baggage and bureaucracy that weigh down the network giants. "I've been hatching this project in my mind for a long time," says Law. "The idea came from a conversation I had with the man behind First Direct (HSBC's phone and web banking service) in 1989. I thought 'my God, there's a bank that is more innovative than ad agencies'.
"It's what I wanted to turn St Luke's into but, for all sorts of reasons, (my former partners) didn't believe in the global opportunity. Clients want quality independent agencies without having to repurpose them for the sake of a holding company. A network should be full of creative people, not lawyers and accountants."
Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop and Bill Dalton, a former CEO of HSBC are among a list of advisors available to offer clients a fresh creative perspective. Dave Stewart of '80s rock band The Eurythmics is creative director of the US node, Weapons of Mass Entertainment, a brand entertainment agency Law has acquired.
Philippines agency Aspac and Taiwan's A Team make it 31 agencies Law has swept into his network. Building The Law Firm began in July last year, when the agency was known as Law & Kenneth. But Praveen Kenneth, the co-founder (and former CEO of St Luke's India), got cold feet and left Law to go it alone.
Thanks to run-ins with former colleagues and the industry's fear of the new, Law isn't short of detractors. Some scoff that the likes of Aspac and A Team are hardly A-list agencies with which to wow global clients.
Others say his network is rooted in fantasy and isn't achievable in any practical sense — but precisely the kind of idea Law would come up with.
Kim Walker runs an agency network across Asia — M&C Saatchi — similar to The Law Firm, in that it doesn't rely on countless offices in every market. "Law's principles are grand, and we need that kind of freshness. But how can you build a global business and control your local partners without equity holdings to bind them? I found from our experience that it's hard enough to convince global clients to give you their business if you've got a majority stake. How you do that for a loose federation like this? It would take a brave client."
Chris Thomas, Asia CEO of BBDO, says global clients want consistency. "That comes from working hard to ensure processes are shared," he says. "Some clients may be looking for a network as loose as Andy's, but they'd have to be very decentralised companies. And if they are, what's the sense in hiring a network?"
So what about Law's new partners? At Aspac (now Aspac Law), president Miguel Ramos knows of Law's colourful past, but isn't concerned. "I've heard the stories. Andy's a very passionate person and disagreements happen.
What attracted me is the chance to be part of a global movement. Obviously, it's a start-up and is work in progress."