Print
Email
Comment
The expansion strategies of Baker & McKenzie, Squire Sanders & Dempsey and Latham & Watkins compared.
|
 |
US firms have their eye on different hunting grounds.
|
Legalwire has surveyed the leading American global firms on the distribution of their international offices and lists, below, the 12 largest by the number of countries in which they have a physical office. We also indicate the number of partners in these non-US offices and the average number of partners per office.
Baker's three dozen
The most striking feature is the remarkable spread of Baker & McKenzie. Like many of its competitors, the firm defines itself as an international firm, rather than an American one. In this case the claim is justified – it operates in 36 countries outside the US.
The firm boasts a footprint in every key financial centre in Asia and has the widest Latin American practice in the market. The firm also operates in 80% of the listed EMEA countries, and is the sole US firm in Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Ukraine and the Netherlands.
Perhaps most compelling is the number of partners it employs outside of the US. For its 36 countries it has a staggering 955 partners, or an average of 26.5 partners per country – more than twice the average of 11.1 partners per country.
Operating in 23 countries, White & Case has a more sobering but still high ratio of 15.7 partners per country. The firm actually employs more partners in western Europe than it does in the US (260 compared to 192) indicating its international focus.
White & Case has a strong presence across EMEA and has a track record of conquering virgin territories. It is the only US practice, for example, in Turkey and Finland, where it is so entrenched in the locally-focused Finnish market that rival firms see it as part of the furniture. White & Case also has one of the strongest Middle Eastern presences, operating in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE.
Squire Sanders spreads thin
Squire Sanders & Dempsey is third on the list, with offices in 13 countries outside the US. But it only has a total of 46 partners running these offices. This is 3.5 partners per country, clearly the lowest on the list.
This strategy of breadth has paid off in the developing eastern European jurisdictions – Squire Sanders & Dempsey has one of the widest eastern Europe practices, with offices in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic. On the other hand, the firm's presence in western Europe is very thin, with offices in Belgium, Germany and London only. In Latin America, it has offices in Brazil, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, where it is the sole US firm.
The recent merger of Leboeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae and Dewey Ballantine has given the new firm – Dewey & Leboeuf – a wide reach across the EMEA market in particular. Leboeuf Lamb's offices in Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and South Africa have added to Dewey Ballantine's more traditional western Europe focus to form strong cross-border coverage.
Another interesting case is Shearman & Sterling. Like many US firms it has focused on Asia and western Europe. However, it is one of the few without a Russian presence. Like Squire Sanders & Dempsey, Shearman & Sterling also has a very low partner count: 61 partners across 11 countries, representing 5.5 partners per country.
Latham's Spanish puzzle
Latham & Watkins is spread across the standard western Europe and Asia-Pacific territories, but caused a big splash this year when it opened up in Spain. On the surface this is nothing unusual as US firms were already there, not least Baker & McKenzie. But Latham surprised the mid-cap dominated market by announcing it would concentrate entirely on high-end corporate work (such as advising Carlyle in its €1.48 billion acquisition of Applus Servicios Tecnológicos), leaving many scratching their heads.
Orrick stands out as the only firm on the list not to have opened an office in Germany. The firm has also stayed out of Belgium, preferring to base its western European operations in France and Italy.
Sidley Austin is almost a carbon copy of Orrick in this sense, running offices in Germany and Belgium and not Italy or France. The firm also has the rare boast of an office in Switzerland for WTO-related litigation work.
| US firms' international offices |
|
Baker & McKenzie |
White & Case |
Squire Sanders & Dempsey |
Jones Day |
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom |
Shearman & Sterling |
Dewey & Leboeuf |
Latham & Watkins |
Sidley Austin |
Weil Gotshal & Manges |
Orrick |
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton |
| Americas |
Argentina |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Brazil |
|
• |
• |
|
|
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Canada |
• |
|
|
|
• |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Chile |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Colombia |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Europe, Middle East & Africa |
Dominican Rep |
|
|
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Mexico |
• |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Venezuela |
• |
|
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Austria |
• |
|
|
|
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Azerbaijan |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Bahrain |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Belgium |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
|
|
• |
| Czech Rep |
• |
• |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
• |
|
|
| Egypt |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Finland |
|
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| France |
• |
• |
|
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
|
• |
• |
• |
| Germany |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
|
• |
| Hungary |
• |
• |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
• |
|
|
| Italy |
• |
• |
|
• |
|
• |
• |
• |
|
|
• |
• |
| Kazakhstan |
• |
• |
|
|
|
|
• |
|
|
|
|
|
| Netherlands |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Poland |
• |
• |
• |
|
|
|
• |
|
|
• |
|
|
| Russia |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
|
• |
• |
|
|
• |
• |
| Saudi Arabia |
• |
• |
|
|
|
|
• |
|
|
|
|
|
| Slovak Rep |
|
• |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| South Africa |
|
• |
|
|
|
|
• |
|
|
|
|
|
| Spain |
• |
|
|
• |
|
|
|
• |
|
|
|
|
| Sweden |
• |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Switzerland |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
• |
|
|
|
| Turkey |
|
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| UAE |
|
• |
|
|
|
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ukraine |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| UK |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Asia-Pacific |
Australia |
• |
|
|
• |
• |
|
|
|
• |
|
|
|
| China/HK |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Indonesia |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Japan |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
|
• |
• |
|
• |
|
| Malaysia |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Philippines |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Singapore |
• |
• |
|
• |
• |
• |
|
• |
• |
|
|
|
| Taiwan |
• |
|
|
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thailand |
• |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Vietnam |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Averages |
Total |
36 |
23 |
13 |
12 |
11 |
11 |
11 |
10 |
8 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
| Partners (excluding US) |
955 |
360 |
46 |
148 |
90 |
61 |
90 |
139 |
71 |
85 |
77 |
52 |
| Partners per country (excluding US) |
26.5 |
15.7 |
3.5 |
12.3 |
8.2 |
5.5 |
8.2 |
13.9 |
8.9 |
12.1 |
11 |
7.4 |
Tags: North America, Baker and McKenzie, Expansion and strategy, US, Squire Sanders and Dempsey, Latham and Watkins, Features