Global London: Turbulence expected

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Global London: Turbulence expected

Overview: Flying hiatus

Covid-19 has intensified the divide between the Global London firms that have really taken off and those that remain grounded

Focus: Cooley

Focus: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Main table

Non-US firms in London: On standby

Five years ago, partners at European firms’ London offices voiced their fears over the possibility of the UK leaving the EU. What happens now this is reality?

The Last Word: Law in a time of Covid

To mark the launch of our 2021 Global London report, we asked senior figures at leading US firms for their thoughts

Sponsored briefing: Paul Hastings – Running a people business

London chair Arun Birla discusses maintaining the personal touch in a time of Zoom fatigue

Global London: Flying hiatus

Posted on |
Global London: Flying hiatus

While no two years are ever quite the same in the world of Legal Business’ Global London report, the story can usually be summed up as one of bifurcation. It tells of the dynamic high-flyers and those foreign firms whose London practices have yet to take off the ground.

For years there has also been a relative predictability in the worry lists of City leaders of non-UK law firms – concerns around London’s place on the world financial stage post-Brexit, an overdue downturn and the perennial challenge of keeping a grip on market share in an ever-more competitive arena. Continue reading “Global London: Flying hiatus”

Global London: Non-US firms in London – On standby

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Global London: Non-US firms in London – On standby

The issue on every European partner’s lips in our Global London report in 2016 was the outcome and fallout of the UK’s Brexit referendum on 23 June that year. Even then, just a few months before the vote, there was a palpable hope that Britain would not do the unthinkable. Those hopes were soon dashed. With the transition period ending on 31 December 2020, the UK has officially left the EU. What does this mean for the London strategies of European firms that have maintained small but effective London offices? Is it time to pack their bags?

Despite the uncertainties non-US firms based in the City have faced in the past five years, there is notable confidence over the importance of the location and the sustainability of a London practice beyond 2021. Continue reading “Global London: Non-US firms in London – On standby”