Nothing could have underlined the continuing relevance of London to the global legal market more than the events of this summer at Kirkland & Ellis and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. These events inevitably colour this year’s City 50, which is a unique ranking that merges the London-only revenues of the largest US and UK firms as a subset of The Lawyer’s UK 200 research.
The rapid and continuing growth of US firms in London has been one of the primary driving forces behind the City 50’s collective revenue growth over the past few years and, indeed, ever since the ranking was launched six years ago.
This month’s City Signal instalment of UK 200 data, as you might expect, goes well beyond US firms’ growth more broadly. As with all UK 200-related reports, this month’s analysis of the usual welter of financial metrics digs into the granular detail behind the results. We look at partner capital contributions, an often overlooked element of law firm financing, and how it compares with other key indicators such as profit, borrowings and working capital.
This report also assesses the extent to which the IPO route to funds has been a success or failure in the UK legal market, the key trends in how firms are using their real estate and UK 200 data about firms’ current and likely future use of AI.
To view the full City 50 2023 rankings, read the full report now.
