Source: WSJ
The number of lawyers at the largest law firms in the United States rose last year, but the increase was largely because of mergers with foreign firms, not domestic hiring, according to a new survey from The National Law Journal.
Excluding mergers with international law firms, the annual National Law Journal survey found, the number of lawyers at the firms would have increased only 0.8 percent last year.
But the total was pushed up by big cross-border combinations like the merger of Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston with the British firm Norton Rose, the merger of SNR Denton with the European firm Salans and the Canadian law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain and the merger of K&L Gates in Pittsburgh with Middletons of Australia.
According to the New York Times, the new mega-firms are focusing on garnering business outside the United States, where growth has been stagnant. Many of the huge firms, like Baker & McKenzie and Hogan Lovells, are opening or expanding practices in Africa. Others are looking to expand in Latin America, South Korea and Singapore, according to The National Law Journal, which is owned by ALM Media.
