London’s importance to the network of European legal services has always been paramount. The City sits on top of the pile in Europe for charge-out rates, for blockbuster moves and for big-spending US firms pinching premium magic circle partners by offering them stacks of cash.
Research undertaken by The Lawyer in 2022 suggests that European law firms were less bullish then about their prospects in the City. In the four-year period between 2015–2018, a majority of the 25 European law firms that had featured in our flagship European 100 report in each of those years and had an office in the City had been increasing their office headcounts.
In the four years after this (2019–2022), the reverse was true. Lawyers fled the City and it appeared that the City offices of European 100 firms were destined to remain small operations.
As we write this at the beginning of 2024, The Lawyer is delighted to report that confidence in London, the optimism about its future and the sense that there are more opportunities than ever is as high as it has ever been.
Read the full report here.
