American firms will continue to grow in London in spite of Brexit

I touched down on a chilly Sunday evening at JFK with a long list of law firms to meet in the next three days (flying back late on Wednesday night). As we taxied round the runway I thought with all the uncertainty in the UK with Brexit, political turmoil and business nervousness what were the leaders of the US law firms going to tell me about the state of the market in the States and their perception and strategy for London.

The next three days flew past with very early mornings and late evenings. Sleep eluded me but I found NY energising and the weather crept up to 30 degrees or 100 as they prefer to measure it. I met a range of firms and the messages I received matched the weather. The metaphor of the sun coming out couldn’t have been more accurate.

Here are my four take away messages:

1) The US internal market remains buoyant and very much in growth mode. US firms are growing in all of their offices across North America. They want to grow their partnership in all offices;

2) London is still a key jurisdiction post Brexit for US law firms. One partner commented to me they saw Brexit as a local domestic issue and another commented the Royal wedding is more interesting! The resounding message was that growth strategies outside of the States still focus on London;

3) The two key practice areas driving growth are corporate and finance;

4) Diversity – whilst UK firms are trying to catch up American firms embrace diversity and actively encourage and promote it. Interestingly, even their office locations (most law firms are based in or around Times Square) are in the heart of the most diverse location on earth.

I came back feeling positive that the future for US law firms in London is bright and assured so, in turn, my message is lets not procrastinate in uncertainty and rise and move forward in optimism.