U.K. law firm partners find U.S. firms in London more attractive

04/05/07

U.K. law firm partners find U.S. firms in London more attractive

The U.S. law firms in their London offices are on a hiring spree. According to a survey conducted by Legal Business, 71 partners left the U.K. law firms to join the U.S. firms in London in the last year.

The findings are part of an annual report on 50 U.S. law firms in London.

The major reason for this trend is better profitability of the U.S. firms. "In 2006, each equity partner in the U.S. law firm in London, on an average, received $1,322,739 in comparison with $1,083,967 for U.K. firms," informed Stephen Doggett. Doggett was instrumental in conducting the survey at Legal Business.

Another attractive feature of the U.S. law firms, according to the survey, is the billings per partner. The top American law firm partner bills $1.97 million a year, while the maximum that a British law firm partner can make annually is $1.58 million.

The U.K. lawyers are also attracted to the U.S. firms because of their robust financial strength. Despite the strength of the sterling against the dollar, U.S. law firms in London have been able to raise their total revenue by 17 per cent to $2.76 billion in 2006 in comparison with the last year. In comparison, the growth in the biggest 50 U.K. firms have been only 13 percent.

The survey also revealed the source of the U.S. firms' profitability. Despite rumors about the firms' branching into insurance and disputes, the U.S. firms have held on to more expensive areas of corporate and mergers and acquisitions.

Hunton & Williams play home to Jenkens' attorneys
Jenkens & Gilchrist, one of the largest law firms in Dallas, closed its doors and quietly slipped into history. The law firm earlier owned responsibility of promoting illegal tax shelters for its clients. Its lawyers move on.

Richmond-based international law firm Hunton & Williams, LLP, absorbed the 93 dislodged attorneys from Jenkens. This mass addition made Hunton's attorney count rise to 1,000 lawyers in 19 offices. With the new expansion, the firm will also broaden its practice areas to include financial institutions, financial services, real estate, litigation, bankruptcy, corporate, tax, and estate planning.

In Dallas alone, the headcount rose to 157 from 70, with majority of the Jenkens lawyers joining here. Jenkens' Patrick E. Mitchell, a new partner in the firm, will serve as managing partner in the Dallas office. He will be assisted by Hunton & Williams' partner Curtis G. Carlson as administrative partner. The duo will also look after the administration of the Houston office.
Hunton will also open its new office in Austin with the five Jenkens attorneys. Chet A. Fenimore will serve the Austin office as managing partner, while Jeanne P. Breckinridge will serve as the office administrative partner.

Wally Martinez, managing partner of Hunton, said that it was a year's luring that culminated in the mass addition of the Jenkens' attorneys. He was confident that the "controversy over the tax shelters did not dissuade Hunton from going after Jenkens' lawyers." These "high-quality lawyers align with Hunton's current national practices. These additions will allow Hunton to provide major capabilities in the energy lending arena," he stated.

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