‘We left North America almost to the last piece on board, and that’s deliberate, because it’s the hardest,’ says Charles Russell Speechlys managing partner Simon Ridpath (pictured).
But, he adds, it had become ‘no longer tenable not to be in the world’s largest private capital market.’
The opening of offices in New York and Connecticut earlier this year, the firm’s 15th and 16th internationally, marked the culmination of more than two years of planning, and filled what Ridpath saw as the final major gap in CRS’s global network.
Ridpath, who became managing partner in 2020, had previously overseen the firm’s expansion into Singapore in 2023 and Milan in 2024. But the US represents a significant step up in terms of both risk and reward. ‘Getting it wrong isn’t really an option,’ he says.
Previously, the firm had served US-related mandates through a combination of international referral networks and fly-in, fly-out teams. But, says Ridpath, that model had reached its limits: ‘We were losing connectivity with our clients because we could not serve them on the ground.’
The solution was to establish a permanent presence through a team from Withers. The expansion was anchored by five lateral partners, led by tax controversy specialist Shannon Smith, with former Withers partner Sandy Christopher joining after a brief spell in wealth management, former Withers partner Reaz Jafri arriving as senior counsel, and former senior associate Phillip Colasanto joining as a partner.
‘It is definitely not a private client move’
The deal suited both sides, Ridpath says. CRS gained a credible and established North American practice capable of hitting the ground running, while the incoming team was attracted by the firm’s ability to support clients across key private capital centres including Switzerland, Luxembourg, Milan and Paris.
Ridpath stresses that CRS has not crossed the Atlantic to challenge the established US legal giants.
‘The United States is obviously a hugely sophisticated and mature market,’ he says. ‘To go in and say, “We will compete with White & Case,” for example, was not really credible.’
Instead, the firm is targeting the space between specialist private client boutiques and the largest full-service firms. The boutiques cannot match CRS’s international reach, while many of the larger firms remain focused on corporate and transactional work.
As Ridpath puts it, CRS was ‘built to serve globally mobile ultra-high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, families, their businesses and every aspect of their lives.’
He points to the firm’s recent expansion in Milan as evidence that following clients into new markets can unlock broader opportunities. The office has grown rapidly in the space of two years, fuelled by existing clients relocating to Italy and then seeking advice on everything from acquisitions and real estate to art and philanthropy.
‘We’ve been able to build out that Milan offering from two people to 20 people inside two years, simply because we had a flow of clients who wanted to do interesting things and needed us to help them,’ he says. ‘If you truly believe in being client-led, you’ve got to walk the talk.’
Tip of the spear
Although the North American launch has been led by private client hires, Ridpath insists that this is only the first phase.
‘It is definitely not a private client move,’ he says. ‘For us, it is going into a market leading with your front foot first, in an area where you can be genuinely credible from day one.’
He describes the strategy as a ‘tip-of-the-spear’ approach. ‘It is logical for us to lead with private client, particularly complex international tax and wealth planning,’ he explains, ‘but two thirds of the firm is not private client.’
The next step, he says, is expanding into complementary practices serving the same client base.
‘We are not going to go in and buy our way to growth’
‘The capability to transact for the businesses and interests of the individuals for whom you are doing wealth planning is the obvious next stage,’ Ridpath says, with fund formation, disputes and corporate structuring all natural extensions.
‘It is gateway services,’ he continues. ‘Immigration is one of the service lines we have added. Real estate is bound to be another one, because when people come in, the first thing they do is sort their visa out, and the next thing they do is find somewhere to live.’
Even so, Ridpath is keen to temper expectations. Rather than pursuing growth through expensive lateral hiring, the firm intends to build out complementary capabilities over time.
‘We are not going to go in and buy our way to growth,’ he says.
Yet he remains confident that the opportunity is substantial, predicting North America will become ‘a significant contributor to the firm’s global revenue in quite a short period of time.’
‘The potential is definitely there,’ he says. ‘It relies on our ability to unlock that potential and turn it into reality.’
