City 50 – City Break

With a few years of pain behind them, City 50 firms are feeling better. But is it still too early to bring out the champagne?

Previous concerns that London’s place on the global financial stage could be eroded seem to have been forgotten this year. While the UK economy is still in a state of flux, the capital has maintained its standing as one of the world’s leading financial centres, adding some confidence to the majority of the industry’s leading law firms. Average London revenue across the 50 largest firms in the capital fell by just 4% during 2009/10. Still feeling the aftershocks of the global financial crisis, the numbers made for tough reading. But after a more stable period, in part thanks to some canny management, an increase in litigation mandates, a recovering corporate market and a rise in financial work, the landscape doesn’tlook too bad. This year, City 50 firms saw revenues remain flat compared with last year. And while London offices continue to contribute less to international firms’ global turnover, there were still some impressive performances.