With worldwide M&A activity down 17% last year, hitting a decade low, according to data from Refinitiv, 2023 was always going to be a more challenging year for US firms in London. And across the board, growth slowed as firms bucked the ‘stack ‘em high’ trend of recent years, exercising an increasingly cautious approach to investment and recruitment in the capital.
During 2023, total London lawyer headcount across the Global London group (see main table) increased by a mere 1.8%, a significant decrease from last year’s equivalent figure of 9% and far below the pre-pandemic era, which saw 15% growth at Global London firms between 2017 and 2018.
