Month: December 2024

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The most highly recommended: new L500 Net Promoter Scores reveal the firms clients vouch for

When it comes to rating and ranking the best law firms, there’s no shortage of metrics to choose from.

Whether it’s revenue, partner profits, headcount or law firm rankings (and there are well-worn arguments about the relative merits of all of these), the information is out there for market-watchers to make their assessments.

But what is less immediately available – and arguably more valuable – is quantitative data on how clients rate the service they get from law firms.

Over recent years, Legal 500 has collected data from hundreds of thousands of clients on this subject by asking them how strongly they would recommend the firms they use to others, with responses ranging from 0 (not at all likely) to 10 (extremely likely).

We’ve used this data to calculate a Net Promoter Score (NPS) – a market research metric devised by Bain & Co – for every firm, which means we can re-order the firms in Legal Business’s Global 100 by a completely new metric.

While some law firms already collect their own NPS data for internal purposes, we are uniquely able to see how firms stack up against each other – and breaking down the data into more specific groups reveals some interesting insights on which firms are the most highly recommended.

For UK heritage firms, Slaughter and May has the highest score with 79.9%, followed closely by Freshfields (78.9%). Fellow magic circle firm Linklaters is fourth with 77.1%, and those three outscore Clifford Chance (75.4%) and Allen & Overy on 74.9% (our data predates the merger with Shearman & Sterling, which scores 75.6%).

The top five UK heritage firms also include Hogan Lovells in third with 77.6%, and CMS in fifth place with 76.3%.

However, all of those are outscored by the elite Wall Street firms, led by Paul Weiss on 89.6%, followed by Cravath, Sullivan & Cromwell, Davis Polk and Simpson Thacher.

How the scores are calculated

Respondents that score firms nine or 10 are categorised as ‘promoters’, with those scoring 7 or 8 defined as ‘passives’ and those scoring their firms with six or less categorised as ‘detractors’. The NPS score is then calculated by deducting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.

For example, if 100 clients are surveyed and 80 provide a score of 9-10 (promoters), with a further 10 passively scoring the firm 7-8 and the final 10 detractors scoring it 0-6, then the firm ends up with an NPS score of 70%.

This reordering of the global hierarchy shines a light on some firms that, while less well-known, appear to be making the right impression with clients.

Philadelphia-headquartered firm Cozen O’Connor scores highest with 96%, just ahead of Canada’s McCarthy Tetrault (95.3%) and Washington DC’s Venable (91.7%). Paul Weiss is fourth overall, just ahead of Chicago’s Seyfarth Shaw (89.6%).

For more information about our NPS scores and to find out more about how your firm ranks, please contact ben.wheway@legal500.com
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“Net Promoter®, NPS®, NPS Prism®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., NICE Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter ScoreSM and Net Promoter SystemSM are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc., NICE Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.”
https://www.netpromotersystem.com/resources/trademarks-and-licensing/

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Revenue generated by UK legal services rises almost 8% to £47bn, report finds

City of London

The total revenue generated by UK-based legal services increased by 7.7% last year to a total of £47.1bn, according to a new report released today (10 December).

The report, ‘UK legal services 2024: Legal excellence, internationally renowned’, is the 13th annual report from industry body TheCityUK, which represents UK-based financial and professional services businesses, and is produced in partnership with Barclays.

Continue reading “Revenue generated by UK legal services rises almost 8% to £47bn, report finds”

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‘We need more lawyers with a green conscience’ – the net zero partner fighting for sustainability

Steve Gummer, head of net zero at Sharpe Pritchard, was recently named as one of Legal 500’s new UK Green Ambassadors. In this Q&A, he discusses the rise of ESG, career highlights, and how law can be a force for social and environmental change Continue reading “‘We need more lawyers with a green conscience’ – the net zero partner fighting for sustainability”

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‘How hard are you prepared to work?’ – partners who’ve made it on how they built a book of business

‘If anyone had all the right answers, they’d be getting all the work in the City,’ jokes Cleary London private equity partner Michael James, when asked for tips on how junior partners should start building up the books of business needed to guarantee their long-term success.  

In an industry as competitive as the top-end London legal market, with no shortage of talented lawyers and firms ready to undercut prices, the reality is that getting that initial book of business off the ground – and keeping it – can be tough.  

Continue reading “‘How hard are you prepared to work?’ – partners who’ve made it on how they built a book of business”

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‘We know which lanes we want to run in’: Latham’s new City chief on pay, practice priorities and partner moves

‘As a firm, we are driven, ambitious and innovative, and we thrive in competitive markets like London,’ says Latham & Watkins’ new City head Ed Barnett, as he sits down to discuss his first 100 days in the role and his vision for the future of the office.

Since taking over from Stephen Kensell in September, Barnett – who joined the US firm from Allen & Overy eight years ago – has had his hands full; juggling not only his M&A practice and new leadership role but also managing an out-of-character knock to Latham’s London play – a series of high-profile partner exits.

Continue reading “‘We know which lanes we want to run in’: Latham’s new City chief on pay, practice priorities and partner moves”

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Paul Weiss joins ranks of US firms scaling back in China with Beijing exit

Paul Weiss is set to close its Beijing office by the end of the year, becoming the latest in a series of major US law firms to scale back operations in China.

The New York-headquartered firm has had an office in Beijing since 1981, which marked its first office outside the US. The firm will continue to operate Asia offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo, which opened in 1983 and 1987 respectively.

‘We remain committed to having a strong presence across Asia, including in Hong Kong and Tokyo, and will continue to provide the highest-quality service to our clients in all of our global offices,’ a spokesperson for the firm said in a statement.

According to the firm’s website, the Beijing office currently has one partner, one counsel, and two associates. The Hong Kong office has eight lawyers, while the Tokyo office is staffed by ten lawyers.

Many other international law firms have been reducing their presence in China, citing geopolitical tensions, strict data privacy laws, and regulatory challenges. Just last month, WilmerHale closed its Beijing office following similar moves by Dechert, Morrison Foerster, Weil and Akin, all of which closed their Beijing offices in the past year.

Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp told Legal Business in October that the firm was ‘continuing to monitor Asia closely.’ While there has been speculation about a potential launch in Singapore, Karp confirmed that there are no current plans to open a new office in Asia.

The firm has been expanding internationally over the past year and a half, re-launching its London office and opening an office in Brussels. It now has 10 offices worldwide, including five in the US.

For more on Paul Weiss’ international strategy, see LB’s feature Late bloomer: how Paul Weiss made up for lost time on the global stage.

elisha.juttla@legalease.co.uk

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Dealwatch: US trio lead on $3.8bn Anglo American coal sale as Apax seals £700m professional services buyout

Crane carrying coal

Latham & Watkins, Jones Day, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz are advising on Anglo American’s sale of its Australian steelmaking coal business to US coal mining company Peabody Energy, in a deal worth up to $3.775bn.

The transaction value comprises $2.05bn at completion, deferred cash consideration of $725m over four years after completion, a price-linked earnout up to $550m, and a further $450m contingent on the reopening of the Grosvenor mine. Continue reading “Dealwatch: US trio lead on $3.8bn Anglo American coal sale as Apax seals £700m professional services buyout”

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BDB Pitmans rebrands as Broadfield as discussions over US tie-up continue

headshot of John Hutchinson

BDB Pitmans has completed its rebrand as Broadfield, joining as the founding member of a planned global network of mid-market firms established by US turnaround firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M).

Broadfield officially launched this week (2 December) after signing up BDBP as its first earlier member this summer.

BDBP, which has four offices in London, Reading, Cambridge and Southampton, was formed by the 2018 combination of Bircham Dyson Bell and Pitmans. It is known to have been considering expansion options for some time, including holding merger talks with Womble Bond Dickinson.

Broadfield UK managing partner John Hutchinson – who became managing partner at BDBP last October after 30 years at the UK firm – told Legal Business that Broadfield is now expecting to announce a second member firm in the first quarter of 2025, and that it ‘may well be’ a US firm.

Earlier this year, he told LB that discussions with a New York firm were underway, and it is understood that those talks are still ongoing.

Hutchinson estimated that there would be a period of around six months between a firm agreeing to join Broadfield and becoming an official member, although this could vary depending on the firms involved.

The Broadfield venture was unveiled this July. An A&M subsidiary, SHP Legal Services (SHPLS), has been set up to support the Broadfield network. In a statement announcing the launch, Broadfield said that SHPLS will provide ‘management services to law firms joining Broadfield in the areas of technology, operations and talent acquisition.’

Member firms will have access to a technology stack maintained by SHPLS, although Hutchinson confirmed that while some tech improvements would be immediate, full access to the stack would not be available until a period within the next financial year.

In a statement, Broadfield said that SHPLS will provide management services to law firms joining the network “in the areas of technology, operations and talent acquisition.”

SHPLS  is led by former McDermott Will & Emery chair Peter Sacripanti as CEO, alongside US lead John Hendrickson, also a former McDermott partner, with former EY financial services UK managing partner Christopher Price leading UK and EMEA operations.

In an interview earlier this year, Price told LB that Broadfield is hoping to add three other firms to the network – including at least one in the US and another UK firm – in the first twelve months.

With the exception of the US, there will be only one Broadfield firm per jurisdiction; as such, any UK firms that join would merge into Broadfield UK.

Firms signing up to the network will retain their own governance, although there will be planning boards that determine the overall direction of Broadfield.

For more on the deal, see Broadfield of dreams: BDB Pitmans signs up for new Alvarez & Marsal legal venture

tom.cox@legalease.co.uk