EXPANSION| The Magic Circle under US pressure in Europe
- Lexington Consultants
- hace 5 días
- 2 Min. de lectura
As legal power shifts from London to New York, Europe’s law‑firm elite is being rewritten
US law firms are rethinking a decades old strategy, shifting from a London-centric model to a broader, more embedded European footprint. As post-Brexit realities solidify, Europe’s legal geography isbecoming increasingly polycentric, with several hubs, not just one, shaping client demand, regulatory influence and lateralpartner movement.
For much of the past 20 years, leading US firms such as Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & Ellis, Skadden and Sullivan & Cromwell built their international platforms around London.
The City generated an estimated 60–75% of their European revenues, serving as both a financial centre and an operational command post for the continent. For years, “London first– Europe later” was not just a strategy; it was a formula for dominance. (Cont.)
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Brexit altered that equilibrium.
The loss of passporting rights and the shift inregulatory authority to continental Europe have pushed many US firms to redesign their European networks from within the EU itself. This is more than regulatory compliance, it is an adaptation to a market defined by complexity, fragmentation and clients who need sophisticated, cross-border capability anchored inside the EU.
London still leads Europe in finance and international disputes, but no longer guarantees seamless access to EU markets. In response, US firms have opened or expandedin Dublin, Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, and, increasingly, the major capitals of southern Europe, such as Madrid. These are not symbolic flags: many offices serve as specialist hubs focused on competition, private equity, financial regulation, sanctions, funds or international arbitration.
Dublin has quietly but decisively positioned itself as a pivotal gateway to Europe, combining the advantages of the English language, a common law framework and unfettered access to the single market. Since 2020, more than half of the 37 international firms present in the city have either launched offices or deepened their investment, among them White & Case, Gibson Dunn, Dechert, Morgan Lewis and Latham & Watkins, reinforcing the city’s increasing strategic weight.
At the same time, a series of transatlantic tie-ups has redefined the industry’s competitive landscape. For instance, the emblematic merge of A&O Shearman, alongside moves involving Herbert Smith Freehills and Kramer Levin, Ashurst and Perkins Coie, and Winston & Strawn with Taylor Wessing. They all demonstrate a shift toward selective, capability‑driven combinations rather than broad‑brush consolidation.
However, lateral hires remain very relevant. Competition for senior talent is intense, with US firms.continuing to draw partners fromleading UK and continental practices while retrieving from lower yield or less strategically relevant jurisdictions.
The result is a Europe that no longer functions as a single point of entry, butas a constellation of influential hubs —each with distinct economic strengthsand each assuming a larger role inshaping the post‑Brexit legal order.
