Matt Byrne

Matt is The Lawyer’s deputy editor. He has a particular focus on the US legal market. He also leads many of The Lawyer’s market reports, including the UK 200.

dollars

The first $1bn US firm in the City is almost here

Military historians know all about the idea of a war on two fronts but they’re not the only specialists familiar with the concept. Over the past decade, more than a few leaders of UK law firms may also have felt doubly embattled, tasked with defending their home patch from overseas-headquartered firms that also regularly pinch […]

Just look at what Cleary is doing

Competition lawyers at UK firms can look away now. Of the 17 Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) Phase 2 merger investigations that were active in 2023, one firm’s London antitrust team advised on seven. Basic maths suggests it shouldn’t be a surprise that this is significantly more than any other firm. What is less obvious […]

Here’s a lesson in how not to grow

Last week’s move of Cahill leveraged finance partner Jonathan Brownson along with two of his colleagues to Latham & Watkins highlights an issue facing several US 50 firms: How to grow. Helpfully, possibly even serendipitously, it comes courtesy of a firm that isn’t even in the US 50. And therein lies the point. Cahill at […]

budget money cash

The three booming US firms that aren’t Paul Weiss

Some US firms in London tend to get all the headlines, and as you know who they are, we won’t bother namechecking them again. But there are others, a tad more under the radar, that have had a barnstorming year in 2023 and whose time in the limelight is now. Such as Willkie Farr & […]

Dollars

The client mix at US firms is about to change

The significance of the unstoppable growth of US-headquartered firms in London isn’t solely about jaw-dropping scale, although the size of headcount and revenue at some of these big City beasts is truly head-turning. Notably, several US firms have doubled down on their investment in London of late, and not just Paul Weiss. While the New […]

saving money

Harbottles partners told to step up on lock-up

With the 2023/24 financial year-end just days away, law firm leaders are doing everything they can to make sure no bill is left unsent and no debt is left uncollected. For many firms, that process will include turning to a raft of new technology solutions to try and speed up the cashflow process. However, at an […]

RPC’s lock-up needs some love

With the financial year-end fast approaching, partners are under pressure to get clients to settle their bills. Cashflow is a top concern with costs rising, just shaving a few days from the lock-up total can boost the cash pot. Some firms manage this spectacularly well. Analysis on the March City Signal channel of The Lawyer […]

Linklaters

Linklaters’ managing partner: “Lockstep is not an issue anymore”

Linklaters’ global managing partner Paul Lewis has reiterated his firm’s desire to grow significantly in the US and hinted there is now no ceiling to the level it is prepared to pay for lateral hires. Lewis’s comments, which are likely to have recruitment consultants salivating on both sides of the Atlantic, appear in this month’s […]

Kirkland is (almost) a perfect 20

US firms’ financial reporting season is upon us. Time to dust off the data comparisons between the top US and UK firms and see which are genuinely leading the way in the global legal market. Everybody loves a ranking and so here’s a new one for you. Unlike single-metric tables that rank firms solely by total […]