In this month’s Global London special we report on the advances made by US firms in London, particularly in litigation. Senior players in London give their perspective.
GO WEST
‘Although Magic Circle firms have offices in the US, they haven’t penetrated the biggest legal market in the world. Those firms haven’t got past a couple of cities on the East Coast – that doesn’t cut it in the US. There’s a lot of litigation in the US and those firms don’t have the same amount of coverage.’
Craig Shuttleworth, partner, Jones Day
UNIQUE NEW YORK
‘New York is a unique market place – you don’t see a lot of movement in and out of that market among the key players. It is a very hard market to penetrate. The distinction is between those with an international offering and those who are domestic. You can see that it is driving UK firms to consider tie-ups with US firms. London is not an easy market either but New York is particularly conservative. There are significant barriers to entry.’
Sean Connolly, London senior partner, Mayer Brown
THIS IS MONEY
‘The nimbleness of US firms, and particularly boutiques, is particularly attractive to UK partners. One of the problems with big UK firms is the large departments they have running the administrative side of things. There are often too many processes and structures and this takes up too much fee-earner time.’
Ted Greeno, partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
NEW ORDER
‘Magic Circle firms have offices in the US, they haven’t penetrated the biggest legal market in the world. Those firms haven’t got past a couple of cities on the East Coast – that doesn’t cut it in the US.’
Craig Shuttleworth, Jones Day
‘The English firms did a fantastic job of institutionalising clients, especially banks. They created very stable relationships, but then the banks became less relevant and a new type of client entered the market – the funds who became the alternative finance provider. They tend not to go for a more traditional type of firm, they will use other firms.
‘The spread between top and bottom of the compensation ladder is generally wider at the US firms, the range can be a multiple of six or seven times whereas at UK firms two to three times is more typical. It wouldn’t be unfair to say that lockstep suits most partners as they get more than they perhaps might under a meritocratic system.’
Maurice Allen, London co-managing partner, Ropes & Gray
JACK OF ALL TRADES
‘We’re on a journey of strengthening the London office and the English law capability for the firm globally. It’s no surprise that England is a base camp for English law work that comes to us from all around the world. The practice is very international. A key difference for US law firms in attracting talent in London is the ability to be a more versatile, rounded lawyer. US firms don’t put people in narrow silos – they frankly value lawyers who have a breadth of ability in their practice area.’
Peter Sharp, London co-managing partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
PLAYING TO YOUR STRENGTHS
‘London is a very tough market, you have to accept there are lots of very well established firms who have built their client bases over many years. This makes accessing those potential clients a real challenge for the big US firms – you have to adopt a sensible, realistic approach to marketing your dispute resolution offering. You have to understand that just going to potential clients in the London market and saying “We can do your disputes for you” isn’t going to work. You have to be smarter than that, focus on your specialties and show a premium quality track record to even get a foot in the door.’
Matthew Shankland, partner, Sidley Austin
STREAMLINED TEAMS
‘US firms have generally performed much better in disputes work in London in recent years. They are very commercially focused in the way they handle a matter, and can be more strategic in the way they litigate. Apart from some exceptions, their disputes teams are not large; they generally deploy a more streamlined team of lawyers on a matter compared to the larger UK firms, although they have the ability to draft in extra bodies from the US if needed. Lawyers in US firms in London are usually less reliant on a large infrastructure around them, and the US firms tend to be entrepreneurial, whereas in UK firms there is more hierarchy.’
Nick Cherryman, partner, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson