#WWW.THELAWYER.COM
26 SPECIAL REPORT
US FIRMS IN LONDON
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that have been announced at other firms.
“One of the issues that we’re very conscious
of is that you can cut so deep into an
organisation that, when the cycle turns, you
really don’t have the resources to service
the client,” he explains. “We certainly have a
real concern that we could get ourselves
into such a situation.”
Equally, however, Davis fully understands
that there is only so long any firm can carry
under-utilised lawyers. “That’s really the
challenge for all law firms,” he adds.
One lawyer who is unlikely to be underutilised
at the moment is Gibson Dunn &
Crutcher’s star UK hire of 2008, Lord
Falconer. The move of a figure from the
centre of British government to a US law
firm was virtually unprecedented until
Debevoise & Plimpton hired former attorney
general Lord Goldsmith in September
2007. Gibson Dunn’s move last year may
have mirrored Debevoise’s, but it was hardly
less headline-worthy.
Both hires may have been more about
PR than chargeable hours, but equally both
look well-founded in the current, disputesheavy
environment. Lord Falconer said as
much when he told The Lawyer last year:
“My challenge is to prove there’s more to it
than marketing. My aim is to be a hands-on
lawyer and work on cases in the commonlaw
world.”
Certainly both moves have been seen by
the market as innovative and even aggressive
attempts by US firms to carve out a
niche for themselves in London. Any law
firm knows that these days a degree of
marketing goes hand-in-hand with almost
all of their external-facing activities. Hiring
former members of the British government
to help build a local litigation capability
seems as good a way as any to achieve that.
One of the US firms that had the most
upheaval to deal with during 2008 was
White & Case. Near the start of the year
the firm’s London office saw the defection of
banking duo Maurice Allen and Mike Goetz
to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
That departure was dramatic enough,
but it signalled the extent of the discontent
in White & Case and its London office.
Much of the blame has been laid at
Falconer: a coup for Gibson Dunn
the door of chairman Hugh Verrier, a
controversial figure since he was elected in
2007. Verrier’s decision to leave London,
one of the firm’s most significant revenue
drivers, without representation on the
global management committee has led to
widespread discontent in the capital and
was also thought to be behind the departure
of Allen and Goetz.
While White & Case reported relatively
healthy 2008 financial results, at least in
comparison with several of its rivals, the
firm has not been immune to the impact of
the downturn. Global profit per equity partner
(PEP) dropped by 4.8 per cent from
$1.67m (£1.15m) in 2007 to $1.59m
(£1.09m), although the London office’s PEP
dropped by 2 per cent from $1.53m
(£1.05m) to $1.5m (£1.03m). Global
revenue was up 7 per cent from $1.36bn
(£0.94bn) to $1.47bn (£1.01bn), with
London hiking revenues by 4 per cent up to
$245.9m (£169.25m) during 2008.
As White & Case announced its results in
February, it was implementing an associate
salary freeze in its London office. London
White & Case head Oliver Brettle pointed to
the economic crisis for the step, saying the
firm was making every effort to reduce costs
during the downturn.
After the closure of several European
offices last year, White & Case has now
launched a global restructuring that will
see 200 associates and 200 support staff
axed. The London partnership will also be
trimmed down in an attempt to respond to
the changing global legal environment.
The firm will announce which partners
will be culled in London at the beginning
of April.
In contrast with White & Case’s financial
results, Weil Gotshal & Manges reported
stellar figures for 2008. Defying the credit
crisis, the US firm’s London office reported
a staggering 22 per cent PEP hike from
£1.35m in 2007 up to £1.65m last year.
Revenue grew by 2.3 per cent from £57m up
to £58.3m during last year.
Despite the downturn and the slowing of
private equity activity Weil’s London office
kept busy advising on a number of highprofile
corporate deals. Corporate partner
Marco Compagnoni and IP partner Barry
Fishley snared a lead role advising Sir
David and Sir Frederick Barclay’s company
Shop Direct Group on its acquisition of
the Woolworth’s brand in February
this year.
Over in the US, Weil’s 2008 was defined
by bankruptcy star Harvey Miller’s role
advising Lehman on its landmark
bankruptcy in September. But the London
office has also made waves in the
bankruptcy and restructuring sector. In
THE LAWYER
30 MARCH 2009
US firms were banking
on London to help them
weather the storm
Any law firm knows that a
degree of marketing goes
hand-in-hand with almost all of
their external-facing activities.
Hiring former members of the
British government to help
build a local litigation capability
seems as good a way as any to
achieve that
November last year corporate partner Ian
Hamilton was drafted in by Premier Foods
to advise on its £1.7bn debt restructuring.
With a reputation as a bankruptcy and
restructuring powerhouse in the US, Weil
has made some moves to expand its UK
restructuring capabilities. The firm
hired Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft
restructuring partner Tony Horspool and
O’Melveny & Myers finance partner Stuart
Hill to build up the London office.
As well as continuing to grow the office
through lateral hiring, Weil also promoted
one partner in the UK last year. Of counsel
Joanne Etherton, who joined from Clifford
Chance in 2000, made partner in the firm’s
London corporate pensions practice. ■
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