Over the Atlantic: London outperforms stateside practices in top US firms

White & Case edges ahead of Latham in the City with £185m turnover

A series of US firms have seen London office revenues grow faster than other parts of their business as the European markets prove buoyant for players such as Latham & Watkins, White & Case and Debevoise & Plimpton.

White & Case is the standout performer this year after topping the charts in headcount but also posting a strong year in the City, with revenues touching £185m ($266m), placing the firm ahead of last year’s star performer Latham, which is only slightly behind with £183m ($263m).

Despite flat growth globally, it was a strong year for White & Case in London, with a 22% rise in revenues and growing 19% in London headcount last year, as the firm aims to grow to over 500 lawyers in the City as part of its 2020 strategy. Lawyer numbers at the firm now sit ahead of the sizeable Baker & McKenzie and Dentons, which comprise the largest teams in the City.

‘It remains a tough market for mid-market UK firms,’ says London executive partner Oliver Brettle. ‘High yield was challenging in the back end of 2015, but it remains an important area for us. We are growing our links across the white-collar practice in the UK, France, Germany and the US. Global investigations is a growth area – this is not going to decline any time soon.’

Last year was a slow year for Latham firmwide, as its global revenues came in more or less flat, growing just 2% to $2.65bn (£1.84bn) after surging 14% in 2014. However, City figures reveal that rivals can far from relax as the firm posted a 12% turnover rise last year.

Another strong performer was Debevoise, which achieved a 20% rise in London turnover to $110.5m. Growth of the office, home to 110 lawyers, was driven by strong performances in the funds and disputes space.

‘High yield was challenging in the back end of 2015, but it remains an important area for us.’
Oliver Brettle, White & Case

While Shearman & Sterling has been one of the slowest-growing firms in the US, the London office outperformed the rest of the firm once again, though only by a small margin this year, with revenue up 3% to $149m. Over the past five years the City office has grown by 76% and last year saw five lawyers promoted to its City partnership.

Like Shearman and Latham, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy also posted global flat results, but its London office put in a solid 6% revenue increase to $110.2m, rising from $103.7m in 2014. Last year, the City office contributed 14% of global revenue.

Also worth mentioning is Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, which has more than doubled its City revenue in the first full year since its Bingham McCutchen acquisition. Revenues in London rose 154%, with the City contributing $91m to the firm’s top line following the acquisition of Bingham’s London office at the end of 2014.

Akin Gump has one of the biggest US firm offices in the City, following the hire of 18 London partners, including a well-respected restructuring team led by James Roome from Bingham McCutchen.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

For more on foreign firms in London, see our Global London feature.