Pop quiz: Q.: How many of the AmLaw 100 have a presence
in London?
A.: 70.
Surprised me as well, but apparently the
number is only going to rise. Reportedly on the prowl for
merger partners in London are Cooley Godward, Heller Ehrman, Proskauer
Rose, and Ropes & Gray—and maybe others. Nor are
US firms already there standing pat. Having just digested
Shaw-Pittman, Pillsbury is supposedly eyeing London again (they’ve
been there since 1972 but have only 20 lawyers to show for their
efforts).
The numbers tell the story:
"The top 30 international firms [in London] posted an
average profit per equity partner (PEP) figure of £789,900 during
the last financial year, compared with an average of just £493,000
within the UK’s top 30."
Pop quiz #2: Q.: How many of those "top 30 international
firms" are US-based?
A: 30.
Again, the numbers help us understand why: The US firms
"depriv[ed] their UK rivals of total revenues amounting to £1bn." While
"deprived" is an odd word to use—the implication
being that the UK firms are entitled to a 100% market share and that
every £ going elsewhere was somehow absconded with—the
economic impact of the US firms in the market is clear, as their
revenue now amounts to 13% of the top 30 UK firms’ total.
Not analyzed in either of these stories, nor in a third cheeky
companion piece taking off from the trope of a personal ad
[note to US readers: "WLTM" is Brit-speak for "would like
to meet"], is the relative performance of the top 10 US firms in
London, which varies widely.
For example, Latham & Watkins and Weil-Gotshal are, relatively
speaking, cleaning up. Latham collects 10.6% of its global
revenue from London, but with only 5.3% of all its global lawyers
there and just 4.6% of its equity partners. For Weil, the
numbers are 10.5% (revenue), 8.7% (all lawyers), and 5.4% (equity
partners). Performance in PEP also shows a wide spread: Here,
Jones-Day is the standout, with its UK-only PEP equal to 135% of
its worldwide PEP, while White & Case comes in last in London PEP,
just 81% of its worldwide average.
In other words, while many have been called, not all have been
chosen.
