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Clifford Chance funds chief in shock resignation for Simpson Thacher

I think it is Anoymous and not @3:41 that needs to check his or her facts. Freshfields would be 13 and Linklaters 22 in the American Lawyer profit table if they were U.S. firms -- significantly below Simpson Thacher. I haven't seen profits for Slaugher this year yet but it is highly likely they would be in the top 10. The point is that there are 25 U.S. firms with profits per partner above GBP 1 million as against 4 in the U.K. There was a time, a year or two ago when it appeared the Magic Circle firms were closing the gap on Wall Street firms but in hindsight this was almost solely attributable to currency. (Did anyone really thing a pound to dollar exchange ratio of 2 to 1 was sustainable?) The gap is now growing again and will continue to do so. This partly because of dominance in the U.S. market -- by far the largest market for legal services in the world -- but also much higher revenue per lawyer and a more focused approach to strategic development. (They work harder and don't try to be all things to all people everywhere.) The statement that the London offices of U.S. firms make more money than the New York offices is obviously false as the London offices are such a small piece of any major Wall Street firm. It is true that the goal is to manage London offices in such a way that they are net contributers but the goal is missed more often than not and when achieved is usually the result of allocating work with a European component for U.S. clients to the London office rather than as a result of local business deveolpment.

21-Jul-2010

9:36 am