‘We already have a strong European offering and our current expansion plans are centred on partner-level and team hires that support us in providing our clients with the best possible industry and subject matter experts.’ Tamara Box, Reed Smith
To mark the launch of our 2023 Global London analysis, we ask senior figures at leading US firms for a progress report
New order
‘We are close to a post-magic circle UK world. They are there, and they are great firms that do fantastic work, but the idea there is a Magic Circle and then everyone else? I don’t think the numbers or the quality of work we are doing supports that.’
Ali Nikpay, London co-managing partner, Gibson Dunn
City VIP
‘London has always been strategically important to the firm, and it continues to be important. Events of the last 18 months have not changed that at all. We’re waiting to see when capital markets pick up, obviously, but there’s been no real change to our long-term strategy. English law will remain popular as a safe jurisdiction for companies considering cross-border deals.’
Justin Stock, London managing partner, Cooley
Global needs
‘London is still one of the most important legal markets in the world, for disputes, commercial, work, M&A, insurance, and so on. There’s a big M&A market here, a big hedge fund market, and a big private equity presence. Whenever you’re building an office from scratch in the most competitive legal market in the world, you take a long-term view. Yes, you keep an eye on the local office financials. But we’re much more focused on the firm’s general performance than on the London office specifically. Like a lot of US firms, we don’t look at metrics on an office-by-office basis. We’re much more focused on our overarching, long-term goals.’
Tom Sprange KC, London managing partner, King & Spalding
American way
‘For certain things, UK law firms are a much better choice for domestically focused UK work but for the things that we do, the reality is the UK firms are struggling to compete. With fund formation, pretty much half of the investors in the world are in the US. If you don’t have a strong US component to your practice, it is hard to be a fund formation lawyer. Pretty much every single lateral hire in this space has moved from a UK firm to a US firm.’
Gus Black, chair of the London management committee, Dechert
Constant craving
‘There’s going to be an increase in lawyers advising on changes in regulation, and changes in international law and trade relations. That is an area which has developed dramatically in the last 20 years and will probably cause more requirement for specialist advice in future years and over the next decade. Real estate will always be a constant. One of the reasons why I love the extent of our real estate legal capability is that there are certain areas of law that will always be required, and people always need legal advice about their real estate exposures and opportunities. The same is true with M&A, so we will see a continuation of excellent, high-quality support in those core areas.’
Dominic Griffiths, London managing partner, Mayer Brown
Jewel in the crown
‘We already have a strong European offering and our current expansion plans are centred on partner-level and team hires that support us in providing our clients with the best possible industry and subject matter experts. In response to that client demand, we are looking to make several hires across our European offices this year and expect to have some news on that in the coming months. Our London office remains a jewel in our crown – and our largest office globally – and works hand in glove with the European offices and indeed with our other offices across the globe. Growth in our expertise in this key market for us is also inevitable as we continue to see demand for our partnership by our top clients.’
Tamara Box, EME managing partner, Reed Smith
Collaboration key
‘We continue to develop our presence in London and across all our European offices, with strong hires into our core areas, and in what we call the firm’s “power alleys”: corporate, litigation/arbitration and regulatory practices, among others. We have a healthy level of collaboration across all our offices, and we are developing ways in which we can increase this activity. I know there is an appetite to do this across offices and the European leadership (backed by and aligned with our global leadership) continues to look and implement ways in which this can be done. It is important for us to do this, given our respective strengths and cross-border experience.’
Hamid Yunis, London managing partner, McDermott Will & Emery
Deeper commitment
‘Wilson Sonsini’s commitment to London has consistently increased year on year since our 2018 launch. We expect to continue to grow and scale in London to meet market demand, and we anticipate London will continue to be the primary hub from which we support European companies in accessing the US commercial and capital markets.’
Daniel Glazer, London managing partner, Wilson Sonsini