Herbert Smith in long-awaited New York launch after collapse of European alliance
Herbert Smith is set to kickstart its international strategy following the collapse of its European alliance by launching in New York, with openings in Korea and sub-Saharan Africa also in the pipeline.
Herbert Smith is set to kickstart its international strategy following the break-up of its European alliance with Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe by launching in New York, with openings in Korea and sub-Saharan Africa also in the pipeline.
The City firm has announced its intention to launch in the US city with a practice focusing on arbitration, investigations and cross-border disputes.
The firm said in a statement: “We will be opening an office in New York, focussed on disputes matters and on supporting our worldwide network.
“There is increasingly a US element to our disputes work so this is very much a natural development for us. Having a US capability will significantly enhance our existing strong international disputes practices.”
It follows calls from disputes partners at the firm for a Manhattan base, especially from arbitrators, over fears that the practice had lost its leading position, revealed by The Lawyer earlier this year (8 August 2011).
The firm is also seriously considering a presence in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa and Korea. It is understood that these plans will definitely get the go-ahead but that a decision is set to be taken in 2012 on where exactly the offices will be.
Herbert Smith is also eyeing a German launch, but these plans are held back by a clause in the alliance agreement with local independent Gleiss Lutz preventing an office opening within a year of the alliance’s termination (28 November 2011).
Meanwhile, the firm is understood to be putting pressure on partners to get their billings in before the end of the calendar year and is considering delaying partners’ drawings as a financial discipline measure. It is set to take a decision on this at the firm’s limited liability partnership council meeting this Friday (9 December), which sits regularly.
The UK firm pulled out of its longstanding alliance with Gleiss and Benelux firm Stibbe (24 November 2011) after the European pair voted against a merger with the London outfit (22 November 2011).
Readers' comments (5)
TheLawMap | 7-Dec-2011 3:08 pm
In these times of austerity law firms should be looking at markets far and wide. I believe that this is the model of business others should follow. Good luck in their venture. Best wishes from TheLawMap team.
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kaiser soze | 7-Dec-2011 4:01 pm
A statement issued by the firm said: "We have had a run of awful stories saying how screwed our international practice is so we thought we would issue a meaningless statement saying we are going to open an office in the US. That's bound to divert attention while we work out what we are doing." Substance and concrete results are what is required if you are to be credible....not spin.
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Anonymous | 7-Dec-2011 4:15 pm
Too little, far too late. HS need a merger or they will quickly start falling apart a la SJ Berwin.
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Anonymous | 8-Dec-2011 7:22 am
Hmm. No indication of when, no evidence of any pre- planning, no announcement of the partners or laterals they expect to fill the offices and no actual licenses (as needed in Korea) to actually open.
Seems like a desperate attempt to stay relevant. When are A&O going to do it and do it properly?
Pretty embarassing that lawyers who are meant to be able to strategically plan on behalf of clients evidently can't do it for fudge for themselves.
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Anonymous | 12-Dec-2011 1:58 pm
What about the Orange crop reports?
Please someone confirm when they are due.
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