Take a look at the Global 200. Think about how the top of the table has transformed over the past 20 or so years.
There was the ‘magic circle’ era of the 90s to late noughties, when U.K. headquartered giants like Clifford Chance and Linklaters dominated, as internationalisation bossed committee discussions; an era epitomised by Clifford Chance’s tripartite merger in 2000 with Germany's Pünder Volhard Weber & Axster and New York’s Rogers & Wells.
Then there was the brief era of the vereins, when ‘franchise’ firms Baker McKenzie and DLA Piper traded blows for the top spot, and when, in an increasingly globalised post-financial crisis world, geographical expansion led the agenda with emerging economies coming to the fore.
Then, the era of the global elite, as it’s come to be known, in which $8 billion Kirkland & Ellis and $7 billion Latham & Watkins cast the longest shadows.
What it means to compete at the upper limits of the Global 200 is always changing.
Indeed, whether or not by choice, Big Law firms are always changing: their make-up, their market position, their identity and how others—employees, rivals, clients, students, the public—perceive them.
But controlling your own narrative in such a climate involves risk and, often in tandem, sacrifice. The risk of investing in a new office, a new sector, of embarking on a merger.
The sacrifice: your culture, your reputation in a particular field, even your people.
Looking at our U.K. newsletter Friday, you’d be forgiven for thinking that not all is well in the legal industry: A&O Shearman is making cuts. U.K. listed law firm DWF is making cuts.
The stories might appear similar and attributable to Wall Street shockwaves. And there are similarities, but also differences.
Similarities: both firms have roots in the U.K. Both make copious use of the word ‘global’ in their marketing. Both are determined to be more. Much more. In A&O Shearman’s case, more than ‘magic circle’—it wants to be in the ‘global elite’. And DWF: more than even a law firm...
