Raising the profile

Firms come from all over the US - not just New York - to set up shop in the Square Mile, as these profiles by Linda Tsang show

With around 100 US firms in London, it is no surprise that there is a great variety in structure, work and purpose.

And there are as many firms with zero UK profile as those with internationally renowned names.

For every top New York firm such as Shearman & Sterling, there is a practice such as Duane Morris & Heckscher from Philadelphia.

Brobeck Hale & Dorr

The office was set up as an innovative joint venture between San Francisco-based Brobeck Phleger & Harrison, and Hale & Dorr of Boston in 1990.

Since 1998, it has been a multinational partnership, and also has offices in Oxford and Munich.

In London, there are 30 fee-earners; Oxford has nine fee-earners, and Munich ten.

Of the London fee-earners, there are 19 UK partners and associates and 11 US partners and associates.

The two firms between them have roughly 1,110 lawyers in the US.

The firm's main practice areas are corporate, employment, IP, employee benefits and share options, and tax.

Partner Christopher Grew says: 'The two "parent" firms were powerhouses in the technology field with international capabilities, It made sense to pool our resources and create a new firm which could operate an international business.

The firm functions as the London office of the two parent firms, and has ties to both firms, but we have continued to do well because it is a separate firm.'

He adds: 'London was and is critical because this is where most of the work from the US companies filters through.

The client-base has changed over the 1990s when it was almost exclusively US clients from the parent firms to now, when 80-90% of the work is from our clients in Europe through our contact with the major investment banks here.'

As for expansion, Munich was opened in January 2001 and that was the first step to the continent.

Mr Grew says: 'The future plan for Brobeck Hale & Dorr is to strengthen and consolidate our position as the leading technology law firm in Europe.'

Morrison & Foerster

The head office is in San Francisco.

The London office was opened in 1980.

In May this year, the office recruited a four-lawyer employment team from Jones & Warner, a niche employment practice.

It has 20 lawyers - six partners (one on temporary secondment from San Francisco); six are US qualified, two are dual qualified (US and UK), while 12 are UK qualified.

The main practice areas are corporate finance and securities, private equity and venture capital, employment, new media and the Internet, privacy, telecommunications, intellectual property, litigation, dispute resolution and life sciences.

London managing partner Kristian Wiggert says: 'The firm has been in London since 1980, but since 2000, it has developed in a slightly different direction, recruiting mainly UK corporate lawyers and IP/IT lawyers.

'Originally, the office was set up mainly to service US clients involved in European IP litigation work and Japanese clients with multinational operations.

London is an important financial sector and the first port of call for US investors into Europe, so we have also strengthened the finance side.

We are actively recruiting and the goal for the London office is to have enough lawyers to take on the biggest transactions coming out of London and the continent.'

Steptoe & Johnson Rakisons

The head office is in Washington DC.

The London office was opened in 1979 and it merged with City firm Rakisons in January 2001.

The firm has 33 lawyers in London and more than 320 lawyers in total.

The main practice areas are technology, corporate, employment, international commercial arbitration and litigation, and commercial property.

London managing partner Maury Shenk says: 'The original reason for opening up in London was that the firm saw it had a number of practice areas which would benefit from a European presence, such as international trade and technology.

'There is also a strong litigation practice, and there has been a certain synergy in how the different practice areas have developed, and we have moved in to other areas such as commercial property.

In terms of the competition, that is on a sectoral basis, competing against major UK and US firms and the niche firms as well.'

He says the future strategy is to build at a moderate rate.

The Brussels office has just expanded and may expand again.

'Elsewhere in Europe, we are looking at finding a smallish firm whom we trust that does not already have a London presence; that is a model that has worked well for the firm.'

Kirkland & Ellis

The head office is in Chicago.

The London office opened in 1994.

The practice areas are corporate - particularly cross-border - private equity, international litigation and arbitration, intellectual property and information technology, and insolvency/restructuring.

The London office has 11 partners and 20 associates.

The corporate group consists of five US-qualified partners, one UK-qualified partner, one dual-qualified (US/UK) partner and one German partner.

These partners are supported by ten US-qualified associates, two UK-qualified associates, two dual-qualified associates and three German associates.

The firm has about 850 attorneys worldwide.

Stuart Mills, a partner in the London office, says the strategy behind the opening in the City was to assist international clients with their US operations and investments and to help US-based clients in European transactions.

He says: 'The strategy has evolved over time and the London office is committed to continuing to provide our US and European clients with the highest level of service and responding to their legal needs.

'We will also be continuing to strengthen our European practice groups to better serve our clients.

The firm expects to continue its development through gradual and consistent growth and to be strategic with respect to adding personnel in areas to complement the existing practices in both the London and US offices.'

Baker Botts

The head office is in Houston.

It opened in London in 1998 with two lawyers and now has 20 fee-earners with six partners (four are dual UK/US qualified and two are UK qualified).

The firm has more than 640 lawyers worldwide.

The main practice areas are chemicals, corporate, dispute resolution, energy, project finance, telecoms and media.

Corporate partner Paul Landen says the office was opened to enhance the service the firm gave to its UK and European clients.

He says: 'The London office evolved from dealing with a particular energy project, and as London is also one of the world's capitals for energy, it made sense to build a practice from this location.

Since then, the office has grown more than eight-fold.'

Mr Landen adds: 'The office is expanding, including the appointment of John White, a new finance partner [joining from fellow US firm Pillsbury Winthrop] who is to join the firm on 1 September.

He will be the office's first dedicated finance partner and his arrival is an important step in our strategy of developing our project finance capability from London.

We have a focused approach, playing to our strengths and not being all things to everyone.'

Shearman & Sterling

The head office is in New York.

The London office opened in 1972 and now has more than 120 lawyers, with a 60/40 UK/US split, and 1,040 lawyers worldwide.

The main practice areas are capital markets, banking, securitisation, project finance, mergers and acquisitions, tax, antitrust, and international arbitration and litigation.

London managing partner Kenneth MacRitchie says: 'The original strategy was to service the US clients through the London office.

In the early 1990s, when the rules allowed US firms to combine with UK lawyers, the firm started looking for the right fit for an English law capability.'

He adds: 'The primary responsibility of the London office is for expansion in the UK, but we also work closely with the French and German practices.

The strategy for the London practice is to have the same reputation and capability in English law as it has in New York law; in terms of the UK, the aim is to be in the top echelon of the UK firms.

In five years' time, it is not impossible that the office will have doubled in size.'

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher

The head office is in Los Angeles.

Gibsons focuses on corporate (60%) finance & project finance (20%) real estate (10%) and tax (10%).

The London office, which opened in 1979, has 11 partners - four US/seven UK - and 13 associates (two US/11 UK).

The firm has more than 800 lawyers worldwide.

Corporate partner Mark Pinder says: 'As regards Europe, Paris started in 1967, London in 1979 and we opened our Munich office in January this year.

We treat our three European offices as if they were one and have a single European head [Bernard Grinspan].'

He says the European strategy is consistent with US operations 'in that the firm is known across the US for its corporate capabilities, which accounts for approximately 44% of turnover.

By way of contrast, approximately another 43% of turnover is litigation-based but we are not currently planning on developing a litigation-based practice in Europe'.

He adds: 'Over the next five years we shall continue what we have started, namely to expand further the corporate and corporate-related capabilities of our European practice which we hope will see us increase the numbers in all our offices.

We do not rule out further European operations, but our growth will continue to be measured, as a measured approach has held us in good stead in the past.'

Cozen O'Connor

The head office is in Philadelphia.

The London office, which opened in 1998, has eight lawyers, one US qualified, two dual-qualified and five are UK-qualified, with 450 lawyers worldwide.

The main practice areas are insurance, reinsurance, company and commercial.

Overall, 10-15% is US-only work; of the rest, half is UK-only and the rest US/UK litigation.

London managing partner David Strawbridge says: 'At the time of the office opening, the firm had an international tax practice acting principally for US clients which had connections in the UK and worldwide, and the view was that we would be able to build on that.

'The firm is also known for its insurance practice and we took advantage of the move to expand and form relationships in the London insurance market.

We have a strong focus on insurance, with predominantly insurance lawyers from the leading London insurance practices.

'That involves cross-border arrangements, litigation arising from the London insurance market, including film financing, and reinsurance, and the growing area in the UK of subrogation.

The insurance sector tends to be counter-cyclical, and recent events such as Enron and Worldcom have seen the rise in D&O [directors and officers] liability - there are fluctuations, but less so than in mergers and acquisitions or corporate finance.

So we are looking to expand further to service that market; we could well double in size in three months' time.'

Linda Tsang is a freelance journalist