The mood among most managing partners at independent law firms from Lisbon to Moscow is certainly upbeat. And for good reason. Our third Euro Elite survey shows overall revenues of continental Europe’s 25 top independents had a strong year, reaching €4.04bn.
The number is only marginally up on last year’s €4.03bn, but with smaller outfits from Russia and the Baltics joining the elite club it still speaks of a robust performance among continental European players. The total number of lawyers in the group is marginally down to 10,753 from 10,867, while partner numbers have risen to 2,355 from 2,338.
Following a methodology that blends lawyer headcount and The Legal 500 rankings, Benelux outfit Loyens & Loeff is Europe’s leading independent, thanks to its multiple rankings in three European centres. Second-place Garrigues remains the largest and highest-billing firm in our table at 1,427 lawyers and €357.1m. Spain’s elite firms still occupy three of the four top spots.
‘The economy is doing well,’ confirmed Luis de Carlos, managing partner of Uría Menéndez, which turned over €235.2m last year.
‘There will always be the need for two or three independent national firms in Italy.’
Carlo Croff, Chiomenti
That eight of the top ten firms in our table have strong regional rather than merely national operations shows that cross-border coverage on the continent is still one of the keys to success. NautaDutilh has offices in Amsterdam, Brussels, Luxembourg and Rotterdam. Fellow Benelux player Stibbe also spreads its core operations across the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Austria-based Schoenherr and Wolf Theiss have market-leading practices throughout Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Noerr and Gide Loyrette Nouel remain the top-ranked German and French shops respectively. ‘M&A and capital markets are a big driver, as are regulatory and litigation work,’ said Noerr’s Alexander Ritvay. ‘At the high end, there is a lot of success for independents.’
One of the fastest movers is Italy’s Chiomenti (for analysis on the Italian legal market, see ‘And yet it moves’). ‘There will always be the need for two or three independent national firms in Italy,’ proclaimed outgoing senior partner Carlo Croff (pictured).
Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners is now the Russia and CIS representative in the top 25, which now includes firms from ten European regions. The most represented country is Ireland with five firms, while new entrants Kinstellar (CEE) and Sorainen (Baltics) are the two smallest firms in the upper quartile, at 200 lawyers and 219 respectively.
marco.cillario@legalease.co.uk
For more information on Europe’s independent firms, see our Euro Elite analysis.