US firms' referrals drying up

Referral work has dried up for US firms which are associated with UK firms or which have expressed intentions to do English work, according to the survey carried out by The Lawyer.

Graham & James, which is linked with UK firm Taylor Joynson Garrett, estimates that two per cent of its work is referrals from other law firms; Chicago firm Mayer Brown & Platt gets five per cent of its work through referrals.

Morgan Lewis & Bockius, which took on a number of UK lawyers, says it gets 10 per cent referrals. White & Case, which has also declared its intention to do English work, gets five per cent of work through referrals as does Coudert Brothers.

Firms with no UK connections include Wilkie Farr & Gallagher which says it gets around 30 per cent and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson which gets 20 per cent.

Referral work is plentiful for Australian firms. Allens Arthur Robinson gets half its work from other firms and Corrs Chambers Westgarth up to 30 per cent.

With only six Australian firms in the marketplace, there is plenty of work to go round.

Continental firms rely on a high level of referral work. For example, German firm Oppenhoff Radler gets 80 per cent referral work, French firm Jeantet & Associes gets 60 per cent, and Spanish firm Diaz-Bastien & Truan gets 90 per cent of their work from referrals.

On worldwide income, the figures yield some interesting findings. The London office of Morgan Lewis Bockius makes up to two per cent of the firm's worldwide income as does the London office of O'Melveny & Myers. Philadelphia firm Pepper Hamilton Sheetz's London office generates one per cent of the firm's worldwide income while the London office of US firm Rogers & Wells represents four per cent of its worldwide income.

Irish firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice claims 20 per cent of its worldwide income comes from its London office, a remarkable achievement since the office was set up in 1989.

While most US firms get the greater part of their work from outside the UK, continental and Australian firms get it in the UK. Italian firm Carnelutti gets 75 per cent of its work from the UK, Swiss firm Froriep Renggli & Partners gets 75 per cent from inside the UK while De Badt Van Hecke and Lagae gets 80 per cent in the UK.

Name of firm

% of world income generated by London firm

% of work referred by other firms

% of work London refers overseas

Work from outside/inside UK

Allens Arthur Robinson 50%

Arias Fabrega & Fabrega 65% outside UK/35% in UK 90% 10%

B C Toms & Co 95% outside 35%

Beiten Burkhardt Mittle Wegener 50/50 5% 1% 10%

Berlioz & Co 50% 5% 60%

Blake Dawson Waldron 20/80 25% 1-2% 20%

Blake, Cassels & Graydon 20/80 25% 1% 25%

Borden Du Moulin Howard Gervais 70/30 20% 2% 20%

Bowman Gilfillan Hayman Godfrey 50/50 15% small

Brobeck Hale & Dorr 50% nominal 2%

Bugge, Arentz-Hansen & Rasmussen 75/25 10

Carnelutti 20/80 35% 5% 20%

Chiomenti E Associati Studio Legale 50/50 10% 10% 5%

Corrs Chambers Westgarth 20/80 20-30% 30-40%

Coudert Brothers 40/60 5% 15%

Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle 60/40 20% 20%

Dabelstein & Passehl 75/25 10% 5%

De Bandt Van Hecke and Lagae 20/80 50% 25%

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek 20/80 40% 5% 10%

Dewey Ballantine 60/40 20% 2% 20%

Diaz - Bastien & Truan 20/80 90% 80%

Dobson & Pinci 50/50 60% 30% 10%

Dr Anvari & Assoc 20/80 90% 10%

Dursey & Whitney 50/50 5% 1% 30%

Faegre & Benson Professional Partnership 50/50 substantial proportionate to size varies

Fasken Martineau 30/70

Freehill Hollingdale & Page 5/95 90% 1%

Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson 80/20 20% 1% 30%

Frorien Renggli & Partners 25/75 40% 15-20% 33%

Gottesman Jones & Partners 80/20 2% 100% n/a

Graham & James 20/80 5% 0.75% 5%

Grundberg Mocatta 75/25 20% 100%

Hamilton & Co 50/50 30% 1% 30%

Hancock Rothert & Bunshoft 100% UK via San Fran office 100%

Hartwig/Johlke Ness 40/60 50%

Hector Diaz & Co 90/10 50% 100%

Jeantet & Associes 60% 20%

Joel Z Robinson 50/50 30% 10% 20%

Johan De Bruycher 20/80 50% 25%

Kevorkian & Loughran 90/10 20% 50% 25%

Kilpatrick & Cody 80/20 5%

Kromann & Munter Int. 50/50 40 20%

Lagerlif & Leman 50/50 40% 4% 20%

Langner Parry 70/30 10% 15% 5%

Law Offices of Gary M Ferman 20/80 5% 100%

Law Offices of Stan Steinger 20/80 50% 80% 5%

Maitland & Co 50/50 20% 40%

Matheson Ormsby Prentice 20/80 75% 20% 50%

Mayer, Brown & Platt 40/60 5% 5% 10%

Michael Soul & Associates 60/40 65%

Minter Ellison 55/45 30% 1% 30%

Morgan & Morgan 80/20 10% 90%

Morgan Lewis & Bockius 50/50 10% 2% 35%

Noronha Advogados 50/50 40% 15% 20%

O'Melveny & Myers 50/50 10% 2% 20%

Oppenhoff RNdler 80/20 80% 10%

Pepper Hamilton & Scheetz 50/50 20% 1% 50%

Perkins Coie 80/20 10% 1% 20%

Piergrossi Villa Manca Graziadei 50/50 (Edinburgh) 10% 20%

Piper & Marbury 50/50 25%

Procope & Hornborg 40/60 50% 10% 20%

Quijano & Associates 20/80 75% 5%

Remert & Partners 50/50 25% 5%

Rogers & Wells 30/70 10% 4% 40%

Roschier-Holmberg & Waselius 40/60 20-30% 50%

Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn 70/30 10% 10% 50%

Scandinavian Business Law Group 80% 3% 15%

Secretan Troyanov & Partners 1 to 3 large small

Shepstone & Wylie 50/50 50% 25%

Simpson Thacher Bartlett 40/60 10%

Squire Sanders & Dempsey 80/20 10%

Stikeman Elliot 60/40 10% 3% 35%

Studio Legale Sutti 100% UK 85% 10% 100%

Thommessen Krefting Greve Lund 35/65 50% 1% 20%

Uria & Menendez 20% 3% 10%

Vallarino, Vallarino & Rivera 10% 100%

Vinge 50/50 25% 4% 20%

White & Case 30/70 5%

Wilkie Farr & Gallagher 50/50 30% 1% 15%

William Fry 10/90 Dublin

Winthrop Stimson Putnam & Roberts 60/40 15%

Zellermayer Pelossof & Schiffer 70/30 5% 5%