Welcome back to the Big Law Business column. I’m Roy Strom, and today we look at how the Ryder Cup reflects the state of today’s Big Law competition. Sign up for Business & Practice, a free morning newsletter from Bloomberg Law.
It’s Ryder Cup week in New York, and plenty of Big Law partners will be at Bethpage Black on Long Island to watch the best golfers from the US go head-to-head against their UK and European counterparts.
Team Europe rarely wins on US soil. Just 37 European players in history have been part of a team that pulled it off since the transatlantic competition, which alternates locations, began in 1927.
But the current group led by Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Tommy Fleetwood has momentum and arguably Europe’s best shot in decades at pulling off the upset.
It’s a similar story in Big Law.
Top-flight law firms with roots across the pond are enjoying a run of success in the US after years of hovering around the proverbial cut line.
To be sure, the group of UK-founded firms are still underdogs on US soil. They’re going up against the likes of Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, and other Wall Street firms that are vastly larger and more profitable in the US.
On their own terms, the UK imports are seeing a surge of momentum.
Consider Freshfields, which might be to Big Law what McIlroy is for Team Europe: A captain that is increasingly associated with stateside exploits.
The UK-founded law firm generated nearly $400 million in US revenue in its fiscal year ending April 30, 2024, according to a regulatory filing in the UK. Its stateside story has arguably garnered more attention in recent years than any other UK-founded firm. After launching a star-laden office in Northern California in mid-2020, the firm’s US revenue has more than doubled over five years through 2024.
McIlroy completed his career grand slam by winning the Masters in April, joining a list of just five other golfers. I’m not sure what the analogous accomplishment would be for Freshfields. Maybe topping the M&A league tables?
Then there is Clifford Chance, which pulled in more than $330 million in Americas revenue in its fiscal year ending last April, according to a regulatory filing. The firm’s leaders told me last year they are looking to double their US revenue. That would make them something like the Ludvig Åberg of Team Europe: A budding star many expect to start winning major championships soon.
It’s challenging to find an analogy for A&O Shearman, which resulted from the merger of Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling. Perhaps the firm is the equivalent of Rahm: a star talent who hitched his wagon to PGA Tour rival LIV Golf. Everybody is still waiting to see how it will pay off.
As a sports fan, I like the new stories. The young guys like Rasmus Højgaard or Robert MacIntyre, who show us a glimpse of something special and leave us wondering what’s next.
That’s where Linklaters stands in the US today.
The firm for years had been largely quiet on American soil. But that changed about 18 months ago when it hired George Casey and a group of M&A lawyers from Shearman ahead of its Allen & Overy tie-up.
Since then, it’s had arguably the most compelling rise among the UK-founded firms in the US. Linklaters made 13 lateral partner hires in the US last year and the firm now has 52 partners and 222 lawyers here. Its revenue rose 26% last year and its profits in the states rose 57%, the firm said in June.
Casey told me Linklaters’ US practice has “tremendous momentum” and was involved in half of the firm’s top 20 global matters last year. Its deals team in October advised Volkswagen in a $5.8 billion investment to form a joint venture with Rivian and in November steered Rio Tinto on a $6.7 billion purchase of Arcadium Lithium.
“They are the kind of transactions that any elite firm would like to do,” Casey said. “And we were not only competitive. We were hired for these mandates and successfully executed and delivered results. That’s the momentum.”
Casey in June was promoted to chairman of the Americas. He still spends most of his time working on deals, he said, but has added more management responsibility as the firm looks to keep growing. The firm isn’t necessarily looking at geographic expansion, he said, noting that he’s done deals from New York for clients based on the West Coast and in the midwest and Texas.
But it wants to add partners across all key practice areas, he said.
“We are just starting,” Casey said.
Winning on US soil won’t be easy for Team Europe in New York. They’re going up against a team led by the best player in the sport, Scottie Scheffler, and they will have to contend with a rowdy crowd.
If you head to Bethpage Black or tune in on TV this weekend, you should at least see a competitive match. And that’s what the UK-founded firms are starting to give their US rivals on their home turf.
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That’s it for this week! Thanks for reading and please send me your thoughts, critiques, and tips.
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