The term ‘global elite’ conjures up images of a group of cosmopolitan, international businesses, drawn from all of the world’s major financial centres.
The reality, however, is much more Anglocentric, and while the question of who qualifies as global elite is up for debate, it is undeniable that the world’s most financially successful law firms are those headquartered in the US or London.
In recent years, geographic priorities have shifted; the magic circle have doubled down on their US ambitions, while historically conservative Wall Street firms are waking up to the importance of a significant London presence.
But beyond the New York–London nexus, which locations are essential for firms aspiring to global elite status? And where do the world’s largest firms still have gaps to fill?
Hong Kong
There is only one location outside the US and UK where all of the world’s top 10 firms have offices – Hong Kong. While many firms have reassessed their presence in Asia in recent years, the former British colony remains essential for global law firms.
While there have been some closures in recent years, including Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner last year and Dechert in 2024, the global top 10 – Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, DLA, Skadden, A&O Shearman, Gibson Dunn, Sidley, Ropes & Gray, Baker McKenzie and White & Case – all still have bases there.
Those 10 firms have an average of 60 lawyers based in HK, with Bakers being the largest at around 130, ahead of Latham on 83.
Beijing
While Hong Kong’s status as a gateway to China remains strong, Beijing has become more of a question mark in recent years, with a raft of US firms pulling out amid concerns over data privacy in China.
Despite this, nine of the global top 10 still have a base in the Chinese capital, with the only exception being Ropes & Gray.
These offices tend to be small, with most firms having fewer than 10 lawyers. The principal exception is Bakers, which in 2015 became the first firm to set up a joint operation partnership with a Chinese firm, and now has around 30 lawyers in the city.
Paris
In Europe, Paris boasts the strongest representation among global law firms, hosting nine of the top 10 and more than 1,000 lawyers collectively.
Most of the top 10 have had Paris offices for decades, with White & Case the oldest, having established a base in the French capital – its first international location – back in 1926.
More recent entrants include Kirkland, which opened in 2019, and Ropes, which filled a Paris-shaped gap in its office network last year with the hire of a three-partner Clifford Chance team.
The only firm in the top 10 that does not have a base in Paris is Sidley, which operates from the continent via offices in Brussels, Munich and Geneva.
Brussels
As the de facto capital of the European Union, Brussels is home to nine of the top 10 global firms, with Ropes again the exception.
Brussels’ status as the heart of EU competition law makes it particularly attractive for firms with global corporate ambitions, including firms that otherwise do not have a large global footprint, such as Slaughter and May, Travers Smith and Macfarlanes.
The global top 10 average around 50 lawyers in the city, with Bakers and DLA both having close to 100, while easy links to London mean many competition lawyers split their time between the two cities.
Singapore
Another major Asian financial centre, Singapore, is home to nine of the global top 10 – the notable exception being Kirkland & Ellis.
While the rest of the global top 10 have been established in Singapore for many years – with an average of around 30 lawyers in the Asian city-state – Kirkland is an outlier in that it has never opened in Singapore, instead servicing Southeast Asian clients from Hong Kong.
And as pressure on profits becomes ever more intense, where firms absolutely need to have boots on the ground – and where they can afford not to – will only come under greater scrutiny.
The markets where the world’s 10 biggest law firms have offices
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- Hong Kong: Kirkland, Latham, DLA, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, Sidley, Ropes, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Beijing: Kirkland, Latham, DLA, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, Sidley, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Brussels: Kirkland, Latham, DLA, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, Sidley, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Paris: Kirkland, Latham, DLA, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, Ropes, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Singapore: Latham, DLA, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, Sidley, Ropes, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Frankfurt: Kirkland, Latham, DLA, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Munich: Kirkland, Latham, DLA, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, Sidley, Bakers, A&O Shearman
- Tokyo: Latham, DLA, Skadden, Sidley, Ropes, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Riyadh: Kirkland, Latham, DLA, Gibson Dunn, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Seoul: Latham, DLA, Skadden, Ropes, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Abu Dhabi: DLA, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Dubai: Latham, DLA, Gibson Dunn, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Milan: Latham, DLA, Ropes, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Shanghai: Kirkland, DLA, Ropes, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Duesseldorf: Latham, DLA, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Madrid: Latham, DLA, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
- Sydney: DLA, Sidley, Bakers, White & Case, A&O Shearman
