The 11th annual Legal Business Global London survey shows that US firms in the City are playing to win. UK rivals should watch every move.
Lock up your associates. Chain down your partners. The Americans still want to take your lawyers (and lunch). This year’s Global London survey emphatically confirms that leading US law firms are firmly back in growth mode in the City. Fifteen firms have seen headcount rise by more than 10% compared to 2011, while overall headcount across the 50 firms is up 2.6% on last year to 4,382.
Even more dramatically, total partner headcount for the group has hit an all time high of 1,325. The Global London firms laterally hired 107 lawyers in total during 2012. By any measure, US firms are advancing across the board.
The UK’s largest firms are finding they have to fight harder to keep talent as the buying power of US rivals is further reinforced by another year of robust profit performance by American firms and the renewed slide of sterling against the dollar. And retaining clients is going to be tough as more top-end talent is lured out of the biggest local firms with big pay packages.
Some of this growth can be directly attributed to the collapse of Dewey & LeBoeuf last summer. Many firms in London opened their doors to former Dewey partners, with a number of US advisers launching new practices as a result.
Dewey was riddled with problems but one major contributing factor to the firm’s decline was the ambitious global lateral hiring programme the firm embarked upon in the years leading up to its fall. But despite the public failing of that strategy, the volume of lateral hires among the Global London firms this year suggests that few view this aspect of Dewey’s demise as cautionary.
Outside the US
While US advisers make up the vast majority of the Global London table, three firms do not have American heritage.
Canada’s Fasken Martineau DuMoulin is one of the largest and is within the top 25 foreign firms in London by size. The firm’s office, which was founded in 2006, consists of predominantly English-qualified solicitors and advises on mining, corporate and capital markets work. Headcount remained fairly static during 2012, with the Toronto-based firm counting 70 lawyers in London, including 33 partners. In 2011, the firm had 73 lawyers and 37 partners.
Fasken made three lateral hires during 2012, including oil and gas partner Kirill Zenin, who joined from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Elena Cooper, an employment partner from Dundas & Wilson. But the firm has suffered in London of late recently, losing four life sciences partners, including practice head Paul Ranson, to Pinsent Masons.
Salans, which also finds itself among the top 25 largest non-UK firms in London, will cease to exist come next year’s survey. The firm entered into a three-way merger with SNR Denton and Canada’s Fraser Milner Casgrain at the end of March and will take on the Dentons name. The merger looks set to create a top ten global firm by headcount, with combined revenues of $1.3bn.
The Paris-based law firm suffered from a spate of departures last year, including the loss of a seven-partner team to launch the London office of Locke Lord in January 2012.
Salans had already seen London headcount fall by 20% in 2011 and by the end of 2012, those numbers were down again to 62 lawyers in London, of which 20 were partners. The firm made no new lateral hires during the year.
Lastly, French heavyweight Gide Loyrette Nouel saw London figures fall by 10% from 40 lawyers in 2011 to 36 in 2012. The firm also lost two partners during the year.
Foreign firms ultimately have to ask themselves: is it better to service clients in London without trying to take on the locals or is it best to enter the market and advise on UK matters?
‘The market in the City is going to get more competitive as more new entrants come and seek a piece of the same pie,’ says Roger Parker, Reed Smith Europe, Middle East and Asia managing partner.
Growth spurt
A glance at the table shows which US firm has made the biggest play in London in 2012: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, which saw average headcount swell by 75% in 2012. The firm witnessed a total transformation of its international network and capabilities in 2012, in part a result of the hire of large parts of the former London, Moscow, Almaty and Beijing offices of Dewey, most notably Dewey’s former London head, Peter Sharp. With those hires and others the firm was able to double the number of lawyers in its London arm to hit nearly 50 by year-end.
Although as much a global force as a US practice, Baker & McKenzie sits at the top of the Global London table again this year. Bakers has 397 lawyers in London, including 55 equity partners and 27 non-equity partners and has dedicated itself to organically developing the London office, in the last five years promoting 20 associates to its partnership.
‘The growth of the London office is integral to the global firm and is used to drive the overall business forward.’
Nick Buckworth, Shearman & Sterling
Growth for the firm has been cautious, however. Bakers’ overall London headcount is up marginally from 2011 when it had 385 lawyers. Likewise, partner numbers are fairly static. In 2011, the firm had 80 partners in London, with that number climbing to 82 in 2012.
That increase is attributable to two lateral partner hires during the year: Norton Rose disputes partner Steve Abraham joining in January 2013 and banking partner Sébastien Marcelin-Rice, who joined from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he was a senior associate, in July 2012.
The firm’s outgoing London managing partner, Gary Senior, says that in order to be successful in London, firms need to work on culture, which means growing organically. ‘Lateral hiring is helpful if you are building a full-service offering in London but it can only take you so far. To build a successful and sustainable business you cannot overlook the importance of culture and that necessitates that you also grow organically,’ he asserts.
While this may be true, a number of firms have used laterals well to launch new areas of business in the Capital in 2012: Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which makes the top-50 largest firms in London for the first time, and Davis Polk & Wardwell both turned heads last year with hires out of Magic Circle firms.
Quinn Emanuel announced plans to launch an international arbitration practice in London in May 2012, through the audacious hires of Allen & Overy partners Stephen Jagusch and Anthony Sinclair. The departures were badly received at A&O, with the firm threatening to hold the pair to a year’s notice period. Quinn Emanuel is in growth mode (see ‘Revolution on a shoestring’, page 46) and now has 27 lawyers in London, including eight equity partners and two non-equity partners.
Davis Polk, meanwhile, launched a UK law practice after hiring corporate partner Simon Witty and tax partner Jonathan Cooklin from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (see ‘Positional play’, page 52). The firm is also awaiting the arrival of Herbert Smith Freehills corporate partner Will Pearce.
‘We have obviously not finished our English law plans in the first 12 months and we will be continuing our growth in this area,’ says Davis Polk London managing partner Paul Kumleben. ‘We started relatively late with English law and have been careful. When starting our English law capability we were selective.’
Some US firms did particularly well in 2012 to move into areas typically dominated by the UK firms. In one standout example, a number of firms launched white-collar crime and government investigations practices.
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr kicked off the year with the high-profile acquisition of Stephen Pollard from Kingsley Napley in January 2012. The hire of Pollard, who famously represented embattled banker Nick Leeson on the crash of Barings Bank, was the only lateral recruit the firm made during 2012. But despite this WilmerHale increased headcount during the year from 36 lawyers to 42, while partner numbers went from 12 to 13.
Brown Rudnick also hired from Kingsley Napley, launching a white-collar defence and government investigations practice with the appointment of Mark Beardsworth. He was one of five lateral recruits for the firm in 2012, although the total number of lawyers in London went up by just two overall to 39.
Other firms to kickstart white-collar crime practices include Winston & Strawn and K&L Gates.
Chicago-based Winston & Strawn posted one of the largest increases in headcount in London during 2012 – albeit from a modest position – after growing by 69% during the year from 13 lawyers to 22 on average but remains outside the top 50.
Meanwhile, there was one completely new Global London firm launched during 2012. Houston’s Locke Lord opened a City office in February last year with the hire of a seven-partner team from Salans, securing the firm banking and finance, corporate, restructuring and real estate capabilities. Through the course of the year, Locke Lord hired another ten lateral partners, adding dispute resolution, insurance and employment to its roster of services. At the end of 2012 the firm had 30 lawyers, including 18 partners.
Proskauer Rose re-enters the top 50 this year, after a few years in the wilderness. The New York firm, which has suffered in London ever since merger talks with SJ Berwin ended in the City, saw headcount increase by 35% this year (for more, see page 52).
But some of the fastest growing practices in London last year included US firms that have been substantively in the Capital for years. Latham & Watkins, O’Melveny & Myers, Covington & Burling, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Shearman & Sterling, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy have all expanded their City offices by more than 10%.
Weil Gotshal grew headcount in the City by 28% during 2012 from 111 to 142. The growth comes on the back of seeing London numbers fall by 5% during 2011.
Total headcount of Global London top 50 firms: 4,382
‘A couple of years ago, the firm decided to invest significantly in London – to develop a top tier leveraged finance team to work alongside the pre-eminent private equity practice, to strengthen the restructuring team and recruit the leading fund formation team,’ says Mike Francies, managing partner of the firm’s London office. The firm hired finance partner Mark Donald and restructuring partner Alex Wood from Hogan Lovells and is awaiting the arrival of Freshfields’ high-yield partner Gil Strauss.
Francies says: ‘London is now working with the US, Asian, German, Parisian and Central European offices, focusing on expanding on what we are good at.’
Shearman grew 23% during 2012, increasing London headcount to 140 lawyers from 115. The firm added Ashurst projects partner John Inglis and BLP derivatives partner James Duncan to its roster during the year. It will be interesting to see if the expansive year will signal a return to Shearman’s early-2000s heyday, when it was regarded as one of the most potent foreign practices in London.
‘The growth of the London office is integral to the global firm and is used to drive the overall business forward,’ says Nick Buckworth, EMEA and London managing partner. ‘Our success is due to the firm’s sheer commitment to London. Over 50% of the firm’s revenues come from outside New York.’
Strategic play: Revenue at top ten Global London firms by headcount
| Firm name | London turnover 2012 | London turnover 2011 | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baker & McKenzie | £126.8m | £122.2m | 4% |
| Latham & Watkins | £125m | £119.7m | 4% |
| White & Case* | £125m | £119.1m | 5% |
| Reed Smith | £114.7m | £94.5m | 21% |
| Kirkland & Ellis* | £94m | n/a | — |
| Mayer Brown | £93m | £98m | -5% |
| Shearman & Sterling | £71m | £68m | 4% |
| Weil, Gotshal & Manges* | £69.4m | n/a | — |
| Dechert | £67m | £46.4m | 44% |
| Jones Day* | £64m | £55m | 16% |
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* Financial figures not supplied by firm.
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For the largest global firms in London by headcount, the year has been a positive one. On average London fee income is up by 5% from £89.9m in 2011 to £94.9m in 2012.
Baker & McKenzie again tops the revenue chart this year, with London turnover up a solid 4% on last year. ‘The year has been fairly flat but the deal pipeline is better than last year,’ says London managing partner Gary Senior.
Latham & Watkins, which landed a number of key deals during 2012 didn’t significantly boost its headcount but matched Bakers’ growth. The firm saw City revenue climb by 4% from £119.7m to £125m. The firm says the year was a successful one on the back of a robust run of M&A and capital markets work.
‘London made a strong contribution to the global firm in 2012 and, looking back over the last decade, we’ve really grown out our full-service platform,’ says London managing partner Nick Cline. ‘In the last couple of years, we’ve moved into a new chapter in terms of our growth and the mandates we are working on. I’m really excited about what we have in London and the strength of our global platform – it gives us a real advantage in the face of the continued challenged legal market.’
Averaged over 2012, the firm had 241 lawyers in London, up on last year when the firm counted 215 in the City. Partner numbers remain flat and the firm made one lateral hire during 2012, taking on equity capital markets partner Richard Brown from Hogan Lovells.
Latham landed a number of plum roles during the year. The firm was instructed by a consortium of banks, including Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which acted on the financing for Liberty Global’s $23.3bn takeover of Virgin Media. The advice was led out of London by partners Scott Colwell, Tracy Edmonson and Richard Trobman.
Shearman & Sterling saw a 4% revenue increase during 2012, climbing from £68m in 2011 to £71m in 2012. According to London and EMEA managing partner Nick Buckworth, this is part of a four-year trend of growth.
‘The core engines for growth have been projects in which we’ve had a strong year. High yield, our bank regulatory team, and restructuring have done well and it’s been a good year for M&A. We also made good investments in 2011,’ he says.
Shearman landed a number of large instructions in London, including acting for General Electric on its $4.3bn acquisition of Italian aviation company Avio.
Reed Smith, however, significantly boosted London fee income. The Philadelphia-based firm’s revenues jumped 21% to £114.7m from £94.5m and account for 17% of its global turnover.
Roger Parker, the firm’s managing partner for Europe, Middle East and Asia, tells Legal Business that while market conditions were tough and competitive during 2012, the firm didn’t see any setbacks. ‘You have to concentrate on where you have strength. Real estate and corporate have been better for us, although it has been a gradual process.’
Reed Smith has had an expansive year. The firm took on seven new partners during the year and launched a private equity practice with the hire of longstanding SJ Berwin partner Perry Yam in March last year. Reed Smith also hired structured finance partner Tamara Box in February 2012 from Berwin Leighton Paisner to launch the practice. The firm has one of the bigger offices in the City. In 2011 it counted 297 lawyers in London, including 103 partners. In 2012 those numbers grew to 315 lawyers and 109 partners.
‘Lateral hires have to be part of the balanced approach for building a practice,’ says Parker. ‘We grow both organically and non-organically. We hope to build out organically but you can move faster with laterals.’
White & Case’s London revenue increased by 5% from £119.1m to £125m during 2012, marking an improvement on 2011 when fee income climbed by just 0.3%.
But not all firms were fortunate. Mayer Brown’s London office continues to struggle. Fee income in the UK was down by 5% from £98m to £93m. This is on the back of a 4% drop-off in revenue during the previous year.
The Chicago-based firm has also suffered from a spate of partner departures, with headcount down by 5% from 294 lawyers to 279.
Proportion of International and UK-qualified Lawyers
Losing pieces
Predictably in the current climate, it’s not all good news. As the UK faces a triple-dip recession, some US firms have had a difficult year in the Capital as some have failed to retain their own partners, while others have had to go as far as to launch redundancy programmes.
Mayer Brown, for one, had a tough year. In May the firm launched a redundancy programme which affected 20 staff in London, including fee-earners. In 2011, the firm had 294 lawyers in London, and that was after seeing numbers shrink by 3.7% compared to 2010. In 2012 the firm counted just 279 lawyers. Three years ago the firm fielded 355 in the Square Mile.
Despite taking on five lateral hires during 2012, partner numbers still fell from 90 in 2011 to 87 in 2012. Mayer Brown has recently become an attractive recruitment ground for rival firms and during the year lost a number of high-profile partners, including corporate veteran William Charnley, who left for King & Spalding in July 2012, insurance partner Ian McKenna, who joined Locke Lord, and real estate partner James Dodsworth, who went to White & Case at the start of last year.
Likewise, White & Case, the third-largest US firm in London, saw headcount drop from 348 lawyers in 2011 to 304 in 2012. Dodsworth was one of two lateral recruits made by the firm last year.
‘Lateral hiring is helpful if you are building a full-service offering in London but it can only take you so far.’
Gary Senior, Baker & McKenzie
With Bakers, Mayer Brown and White & Case all seeing static or falling headcount in 2012, there is some evidence that broad service players are failing to keep pace as more tightly focused international firms advance in London.
However, White & Case’s London managing partner Oliver Brettle seems unfazed and maintains that the firm has had a good year. ‘Fourteen months ago I would have said that 2012 was going to be a bumpy year but it turned out positive for us. We made substantial investments in London during 2010 and 2011.’
He adds: ‘While local work in London is important, London is our principal centre for English law expertise. It is a crossing point for international transactions needing strong English law lawyers. It’s a full-service offering and for us to thrive we need to be strong locally.’
Steptoe & Johnson saw the biggest fall in headcount last year, dropping out of the Global London table after headcount went from 30 to 22, a 27% decline. The firm was picked on by US rivals, losing David Lorello to Covington & Burling, and insurance partners Damian Cleary and Gavin Coull to Locke Lord.
Other firms to see significant London headcount fall include McGuireWoods, Chadbourne & Parke, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and Faegre Baker Daniels.
McGuireWoods, which has been in the City since 2009, saw London headcount fall by 12%. The firm’s lawyer numbers went from 51 to 45, while partner numbers fell marginally from 24 to 21. The numbers fell despite taking on four lateral partners during 2012. Similarly, Faegre Baker Daniels saw London headcount drop by 14.8% between 2011 and 2012. The Minnesota-based firm saw lawyer numbers fall from 27 to 23.
Cadwalader, however, saw a large drop in headcount and falls out of the Global London 50. The firm’s London branch shrank by 19% during the year from 21 lawyers in 2011 to 17 lawyers in 2012. The firm, which launched its London office in 1997, is known for taking a conservative approach to growth, especially after the bottom fell out of the securitisation market, and has not made up any partners in London since 2008. However, the firm made two lateral hires during last year, taking on Mayer Brown capital markets partner Stephen Day and Linklaters restructuring partner Yushan Ng.
Partner headcount by practice area
Knight takes pawn
With the major US firms now staffing their offices with partners groomed at the top UK firms, the next step is to secure UK-based companies and financial institutions as clients.
Baker & McKenzie’s Gary Senior says the deal pipeline is good but that his firm wants to count more UK PLCs as clients. This has been a consistent threat to the UK’s large law firms in recent years.
One of the most notable developments in 2012 was the appearance of a number of US firms on the panels of major retail banks. Milbank was the latest success, awarded a spot on Lloyds Banking Group’s panel late last year. This followed HSBC appointing Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Latham & Watkins and Mayer Brown to its roster; and Barclays naming Cleary Gottlieb, Shearman and Sullivan & Cromwell on its general advisory panel in 2011, which has recently been extended for another year to 2014. White & Case was also reappointed to Société Générale’s main panel last year. Other firms saw new panel appointments with major UK corporates, notably Quinn Emanuel, which was appointed to ITV’s panel in 2012.
And even some of the most high-profile mandates are going to US firms. Bingham McCutchen, which is celebrating its 40th year in London, acted for the administrators of Comet when the retailer went under. James Roome, the firm’s London managing partner, says it was always the intention for Bingham to move more into the mainstream of City work.
‘When we first set up the English law practice in London, it was because our clients wanted us to advise on UK cases,’ explains Roome. ‘But, from the outset, our clients have looked to us to take on cross-border cases in Europe, particularly where English law applies or where an English procedure can be used to implement a deal.’
The firm currently has 47 lawyers and 16 partners in London and Roome says he will be looking to build that up: ‘We look for lawyers that can extend our platform. More laterals equate to more risk, as every hire is assuredly an outgoing but not a guaranteed income.’
In January, music retailer HMV filed for administration after a number of years restructuring its business. The company went into administration after its suppliers refused to provide financing to pay off bank debts.
Salans’ London office took a lead role acting for retail restructuring specialist Hilco on the purchase of HMV’s syndicated debt. The Salans team was led by restructuring partner Jonathan Polin and banking consultant Alison Gaines. In 2011, Hilco also bought HMV Canada. Salans led on that deal as well. The firm’s London office, which is now part of Dentons, counts Hilton International and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as clients.
Fashion retailer Republic also filed for administration in 2013. The clothing chain appointed Ernst & Young as administrators in mid-February, with 2,500 jobs currently at risk. Cleary Gottlieb acted for longstanding client TPG on the administration. London partners David Billington and Simon Jay led on the mandate and also advised the US-based private equity house on its £300m purchase of Republic from Chance Capital Partners in 2010.
Named Legal Business Law Firm of the Year in February, Cleary Gottlieb has had a good year. The firm has landed a number of impressive mandates, acting for Rosneft on its $55bn acquisition of TNK-BP, led by London-based partner Daniel Braverman and Paris-based partner Russell Pollack. The Rosneft deal was the largest in Europe during 2012 and reflects an active energy sector for deal advisers.
‘More laterals equate to more risk, as every hire is assuredly an outgoing but not a guaranteed income.’
James Roome, Bingham McCutchen
In October 2012, Vinson & Elkins acted for Uz-Kor Gas Chemical on the development, financing and construction of its $3.9bn integrated upstream gas and petrochemical complex in Uzbekistan. The deal was led by the firm’s global co-head of its project finance practice, Nabil Khodadad, who was hired from Dewey in London in May last year.
The Texas-bred Vinson, which excels in energy work, also acted for Tullow Oil on the sale of multibillion-dollar interests in production-sharing contracts and related assets by the Republic of Uganda. London managing partner Alexander Msimang led for the firm.
Jones Day’s City arm has acted on a number of energy deals, including leading for Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation on the acquisition of the remaining 49.5% share capital of Camrose Resources, in a deal worth $550m. London corporate partner Vica Irani led for the firm.
While the scramble to win corporate mandates has been fierce, foreign advisers have also won roles on a number of high-profile disputes.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was on the front line in arguably the highest profile matter of the year, acting for Roman Abramovich in a $6bn dispute with former business partner, Boris Berezovsky. The firm was successful in seeing the case dismissed, with costs awarded to its client. London litigation partner Karyl Nairn led a mammoth team on the dispute, which is the largest case to ever hit the English Commercial Court. Nairn was also in February named as the sole solicitor advocate to receive QC in the 2013 silk round, the second Skadden advocate to secure the award after Paul Mitchard.
Other US advisers demonstrated their enhanced contentious capabilities. Weil Gotshal’s Matthew Shankland acted for the Barclay brothers in the High Court in a major dispute brought by Irish property developer Patrick McKillen concerning the ownership and control of the Maybourne Hotel Group. Debevoise & Plimpton’s David Rivkin successfully represented Occidental Petroleum Corporation against the government of Ecuador, winning an award of $2.3bn, which marked the largest bilateral investment treaty award to date.
K&L Gates also acted in a high-profile matter after leading a four-week jury trial in a large insider dealing case brought by the Financial Services Authority. The firm represented Christina Weckwerth, who was alleged by the financial watchdog to have received inside information from her investment banker boyfriend. The firm, under the lead of Elizabeth Robertson, who was hired from Addleshaw Goddard at the start of 2012, was successful in securing an acquittal.
Reed Smith’s leading media practice was appointed as legal adviser and secretariat to the BBC in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal. The firm has involvement in two aspects of the investigation: the first review, led by Sky News head Nick Pollard in October 2012, and the second, which is being led by retired Court of Appeal judge Dame Janet Smith, who is examining the culture at the BBC when Savile worked there.
Reed Smith’s team is being led by litigation group head Richard Spafford, along with fellow litigation partners Carolyn Pepper and Ben Summerfield.
Hiring spree: The firms that made the most lateral hires in 2012 |
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| Firm | Partner | Previous firm | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jones Day | Drew Salvest | Mayer Brown | Feb-12 |
| Dominic O’Brien | Addleshaw Goddard | Apr-12 | |
| Dan Coppel | Dewey & LeBoeuf | May-12 | |
| Baiju Vasani | Crowell & Moring | Jun-12 | |
| Christopher Braithwaite | Simmons & Simmons | Jul-12 | |
| Ferdinand Mason | Boekel De Nerée | Oct-12 | |
| Jules Quinn | Nabarro | Nov-12 | |
| Karim Mahmud | Blake, Cassels & Graydon | Feb-13 | |
| Dechert | Antony Dutton | Norton Rose | Jan-12 |
| Miriam Gonzalez | DLA Piper | Jan-12 | |
| Charles Malpass | LG | Jan-12 | |
| Duncan Wiggetts | DLA Piper | Feb-12 | |
| Louise Roman Bernstein | Dewey & LeBoeuf | Apr-12 | |
| Camille Abousleiman | Dewey & LeBoeuf | Apr-12 | |
| Simon Briggs | Dewey & LeBoeuf | Apr-12 | |
| Jeremy Trinder | White & Case | Jun-12 | |
| Reed Smith | Tamara Box | Berwin Leighton Paisner | Feb-12 |
| Chris Borg | SNR Denton | Feb-12 | |
| Perry Yam | SJ Berwin | Mar-12 | |
| Nicholas Rock | Dewey & LeBoeuf | Apr-12 | |
| Peter Zaman | Clifford Chance | May-12 | |
| Askandar Samad | DLA Piper | Oct-12 | |
| Tim Beale | SJ Berwin | Dec-12 | |
| Mayer Brown | Bernd Bohr | Allen & Overy | Feb-12 |
| Jeremy Kenley | Apollo Global Real Estate | Apr-12 | |
| Chris Harvey | CMS Cameron McKenna | Apr-12 | |
| Andrew Block | Travers Smith | Jun-12 | |
| James Taylor | Allen & Overy | Dec-12 | |
| Martin Wright | Ashurst | Jan-13 | |
| Alistair Graham | White & Case | Jan-13 | |
| K&L Gates | Elizabeth Robertson | Addleshaw Goddard | Jan-12 |
| Sean Crosky | Norton Rose | Feb-12 | |
| Matthew Duncan | Sidley Austin | Mar-12 | |
| Paul Matthews | Sidley Austin | May-12 | |
| Theresa Kradjian | Sidley Austin | Aug-12 | |
| Sean Donovan-Smith | Speechly Bircham | Aug-12 | |
Global London total headcount 2001-12
Endgames
Despite the prolonged malaise in the UK and European economies, there is little suggestion that London is losing any of its strategic importance to foreign advisers. Latham & Watkins’ London managing partner Nick Cline sees a need to grow London to the point where it mirrors the firm’s New York arm.
‘We have been steadily growing our headcount and I would not be surprised if, at some point, London is a similar size to our New York office,’ he says.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s London managing partner Tom Budd agrees: ‘We have a strong New York office of 300 lawyers but we think we need to grow further in London.’
Budd says this is likely to happen in the medium to long term rather than in the next few years. The firm currently has 47 lawyers in London, including 17 partners. If it is to mirror New York, the firm still has a long way to go.
But the key message from US firms is that their London offices need to be bigger. The fallout from Dewey’s own failed lateral programme has done little to deter local management to continue hiring laterally – it seems to have had the opposite effect.
For now at least, UK firms will have to keep a close eye on their talent to make sure it isn’t taken by stealth. LB
emma.sadowski@legalease.co.uk
Methodology
The firms that appear in Global London are the 50 largest non-UK originated firms in London, ranked by headcount. Partner and lawyer numbers were all requested as full-time equivalent averages for 2012. All partner hires were up to and including February 2013. Total lawyer numbers include partners, associates, assistants and trainees but not paralegals. An average exchange rate for the year 2012 was used for Global London. This was £1=$1.58474.