Looking for innovation among US law firms in Europe can be a fruitless task – not because it does not exist but because of the way the firms are run.
In general, whereas UK law firms favour a more heavily-managed approach, their US counterparts follow more individualistic models of partnership. This makes research difficult, in the context of a report that is largely an assessment of law firms as businesses and the way they manage themselves.
So the list (click here) is not so much a ranking as a survey of all the different ways in which US law firms have expanded in Europe. The real successes – firms with a definite strategy – have been chosen, along with ones that were most recommended for being innovative in their strategy.
The “outright successes” are both innovative in their internal management and their strategies. Latham & Watkins, the overall winner, is unequivocally recognised for its excellence throughout Europe. The firm came to London in 1990 and established itself as the “go-to” US lawyers for high-yield work. It then exploded into continental Europe in 2001 to great acclaim. It is unapologetically ambitious, yet still maintains one of the most inclusive, transparent cultures in the market.
White & Case, in contrast, has been in Europe for nearly 80 years and it has recently enjoyed some of the fastest revenue growth of any US firm in London. The firm has embraced innovative management, client care and human resources practices. The London office has also reorganised itself internally to mirror its banking clients, going against traditional law firm models of practice area organisation.
Among “the marrying kind”, Reed Smith was a relatively unknown US firm that exported its “aggressive” US growth strategy to Europe in this year’s merger with Richards Butler. The enlarged firm, Reed Smith, Richards Butler, is reporting a smooth integration process and it is on track to meet its budgetary targets. It has plans to move into the upper mid-market ranks in London and to enhance its Paris and Munich offices.
A controversial newcomer to Europe is Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll. This leading US class action plaintiff law firm opened its first European office in London in May, provoking heated debate as to whether the UK legal system has the appetite for this style of litigation.
Cleary Gottleib, meanwhile, is “the US statesman in Europe”, having been in Paris since 1949, where it assisted in the development of the Marshall Plan. Cleary’s European strategy is to be one of the top firms in its carefully chosen markets. Almost half of its lawyers are in Europe, the majority of whom are non-Americans. It is credited with being one firm that has overcome transatlantic cultural differences, happily ridding itself of the assumption that the American way is the only way.
The “wavemaker” in the table is Kirkland & Ellis, which followed its US private equity clients into Europe in 2000 and began to expand its indigenous practice. The firm made headlines last year with its aggressive recruitment of key private equity partners from Linklaters and SJ Berwin.
In a more low-key way, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae is also notable for its steady, sure-footed growth since 1995 in the energy and insurance sectors.
