The sun never sets on the Magic Circle

The sun never sets on the Magic Circle The sun never sets on the Magic Circle Vaults law firm rankings wont be released until later in the summer, but I dont think its giving too much away to say that those U.K. firms with a substantial U.S. presenceClifford Chance, Freshfields, Allen Overy, Linklaters, Lovellsarent exactly struggling. In fact, the ascension of the Magic Circle firms in terms of prestige has been one of the surveys most striking trends over the last few years. This trend is even more remarkable when one considers what a rocky start these firms had, particularly the largest of them all, Clifford Chance. First, there was Clifford Chances acrimonious union with Rogers Wells,followed swiftly bythe self-inflicted PR debacle known as the Memo Scandal. Back in 2002, in response to the firms perennial cellar-dweller status in the American Lawyers survey of associate satisfaction, the firm commissioned an associate-authored memorandum summarizing the associates gripes. To the surprise of no one, except perhaps Clifford Chance, the memo was leaked and rapidly made the rounds of New Yorks legal community. Most of the complaints catalogued in the memo were fairly typical for big time firms: partner favoritism and indifference, inadequate perks (no free shoeshines!), and insufficient training. The portion concerning billable hours, however, was a bombshell: some associates suggested that they felt pressure from partners to pad their hours. (Rumors of fraud = bad for business.)For the next couple of years, the memo scandal was, for many lawstudents and young associates, the salient fact about Clifford Chance-NYC. So kudos to the firm for climbing out of that hole. In the wake of the scandal, the firm took on morale issues head-on, going as far as installing a people partner to work on increasing retention. David Childs, the firms managing partner told The American Lawyer,Her sole role is to look after people. Theyve done something right: In the AmLaw 2007 midlevel satisfaction survey, the firm's New York office ranked10th out of 81. But of course providing a happy place for associates is hardly the point of a modern law firm. The Lawyer recently revealed some truly amazing statistics on the financial growth of UK law firms: Since the turn of the century, the average PEP of the UK's top 30 firms has grown by just under 93 (!) per cent. As The Lawyer puts it: The explosion in profitability has caused a seismic shift among the top firms with respect to their recruiting position stateside. John Christian, the personnel committee chair for Clifford Chance-US, positively crows: We receive resumes almost every day from lawyers who want to come here. Higher profits have certainly helped. But the lockstep culture and global reach are also important. I don't believe any US firm can match our global footprint and collaborative approach. -posted by brianAbove: agoogle image result for 'British Empire'