‘Our brand is not currently the most distinguishable. Becoming better known for the things we’re great at is definitely a goal for us. We think we’re undersold.’
Gregor Pryor, Reed Smith’s managing partner for Europe and the Middle East, and Brigid North, who took up the London managing partner role in January, are on a mission to change perceptions about the firm in London.
The pair maintain that Reed Smith is under-appreciated in the City and needs to boost its profile.
Key to their plans is focusing on key industry sectors for the firm as a whole, like media – a sector in which Reed Smith is understood to have advised Sony Music on the $1bn acquisition of Queen’s publishing and recorded music rights.
‘We’re not the number one private equity shop or perhaps natural first choice for M&A,’ says Pryor, ‘but our media and energy M&A work stands out. The job for Brigid and I is to see those industry groups drive more market-leading deals over the next three to five years.’
Alongside media & entertainment, Reed Smith’s other key industry sectors are: energy and natural resources; financial services; healthcare & life sciences; and transportation.
North is clear about the advantages this industry focus brings, stating that the generations of expertise built up in these key industries helps retain and recruit talent attracted to interesting work for well-known clients.
As Pryor puts it, the firm’s aim is to be ‘the best in certain areas’ rather than across the board, with recruitment expected to focus on the same sectors.
The City arm’s most recent financial results saw revenue climb 15% in from $214m to $247m in 2024, against global revenue climbing by 5% to cross the $1.5bn mark for the first time. In contrast, over the last two years, London headcount has dropped slightly, with the office housing 332 lawyers, including 120 partners, in January 2025 compared with 365 lawyers, including 128 partners, in January 2023 – a drop of around 9%.
Now though, the pair are gearing up for modest growth in London, targeting a headcount increase of between 5% and 8% over the next two years.
They maintain that there is firepower ready to be deployed should the right partners emerge in practices like private equity, corporate and disputes who align with Reed Smith’s sector focus.
Recent moves back this up, with the City office adding hiring capital markets partner Mark Drury from Linklaters, private equity partner Tom Whelan from McDermott, Will & Emery, corporate energy partner Nina Howell from King and Spalding and, most recently, capital markets partner Samantha Myers from Gowling WLG since December 2023.
The two leaders have no intention of joining pay wars at either associate or partner level to compete for talent though.
As Pryor explains: ‘It’s hard to add people if you’re not paying absolute top dollar, and we aren’t prepared to overpay.’
At £125,000 the firm’s NQ salary rate is the same as Ashurst’s and slightly behind Hogan Lovells and Herbert Smith Freehills, which both currently pay £135,000.
‘We aren’t going to get involved in the salary arms race — that’s crazy talk’, he says. ‘Neither are we a lifestyle firm. You have to find something in between that plays to our strengths — a non-hierarchical culture, a warm and supportive environment, and training and development that turns people into much better lawyers.’
The culture point is also important to North. Still adapting to life as London head after taking over from Andrew Jenkinson in January, she is candid about her initial fears about the role, admitting: ‘If I’m being honest, it comes with a certain amount of daunt and impostor syndrome.’
One of the first things she has done since taking up the post is embark on a listening exercise, speaking to associates, new joiners and the business development team to hear their views on the firm where she’s worked for 20 years.
The conversations helped her ‘crystallise that we have a culture that is worth preserving’.
Boosting the bottom line
Outside London, Reed Smith has had a busy few months. In September last year it closed its Beijing office, reducing its Chinese footprint to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, in January, it launched an Atlanta office with a 15-partner private equity, M&A, finance and technology team from Atlanta law firm Morris, Manning & Martin and Greenberg Traurig. This was quickly followed by a February office opening in Denver with the addition of an 11-partner team focused on private equity, finance and technology from firms including Denver outfit Brownstein.
The firm also obtained a license from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Justice earlier this year and plans to open an office to consolidate its longstanding presence in the Kingdom.
Despite this recent international expansion, according to Pryor the longer term goal is to grow the bottom line more than extend geographic reach, with Pryor predicting that the firm’s investment in technology will play a role in this.
‘Barring a combination, we’re not going to grow that much in terms of global lawyer numbers, but I think there’s a legitimate path to us becoming a much more profitable business,’ he explains.
