U.S. law firms are accelerating their stealthy, decades-long march into the world’s third largest economy with the likes of Kirkland & Ellis, White & Case, Gibson Dunn, Goodwin Procter, Reed Smith, and Morgan Lewis all opening or expanding offices in the past year.
The influx of Americans with deep pockets has triggered a talent war for young professionals, pressuring local firms to raise salaries for newly qualified (NQ) lawyers to eye-watering sums. Germany’s Gen Z now pockets €150,000 to €175,000 ($127,000 to $148,000) a year at the top firms—plus bonus, thank you—and they’d prefer not to work late.
The U.S. migration is being driven by opportunities in cross-border M&A, private equity, and finance. Germany was the most-targeted nation for deals in continental Europe during the first half of 2024, with 815 deals valued at $42.8 billion. The party carried on into July with Sullivan & Cromwell and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advising on Bosch Group’s $8.1 billion, all-cash acquisition of Johnson Controls and Hitachi Assets, the largest to date for the privately held German technology group.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher is among the U.S. firms envisioning its long game. Willkie has nearly tripled its size in Germany over the last four years, opening a Munich office in March to help build its empire. “Expanding our transactional bench in Germany is a key area of focus,” says Kamyar Abrar, Willkie’s co-managing partner of Germany.
And it’s not only corporate practices experiencing a surge in activity.
Mass multi-billion dollar claims, of which Volkswagen's 'emissions cheating' scandal was one example, have already caused some firms to alter their strategy in the country to secure lucrative mandates.
It is also notable that of litigation powerhouse Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan’s 10 European offices, five of them are strategically located in Germany. One of the latest U.S. firms to plant their flag is Ogletree Deakins, a 1,000-lawyer employment outlet that opened in Munich on August 1...
