Letter from London: Rankings
Ed. note: The legal world is much bigger than New York, or Washington, or even the United States. Welcome to Letter from London, a weekly dispatch from the other side of the pond. Our U.K. correspondent, Isaac Smith, will expose ATL readers to the latest goings-on in the London legal world. You can reach Isaac by email, at isaacsmithlondon@googlemail.com.
Lawyers love rankings like Somali pirates love US ships. Of course, some rankings are taken more seriously than others - which isn’t to suggest that lists such as United States Lawyer Rankings, Chambers & Partners, and Letter from London Top Five* are anything less than highly sophisticated exercises in quantifying excellence.
Letter from London Top Five American Things in the UK 2009 (listed in order of merit)
1. American Idol
2. Skadden
3. Pop Tarts
4. KFC
5. Latham & Watkins
Sometimes it feels almost a shame when the cold, hard figures have to come into it, as they do in the boring old Q1 global M&A rankings (published last week). So who won? Well, you did. In fact, Wall Street wiped the floor with London. Letter from London Number Two American Thing in the UK 2009 Skadden led the way, working on 28 deals worth $169bn. The highest placed British firm - not that you care - was Freshfields, with deals worth $93bn.
After the jump, relative relief in London.
In other news
As you may have guessed from the fact that this column began with a rankings story, last week was a quiet one for legal news in the UK. No firm, it seems, wanted to be the one to break bad news just before Easter. Apart from hard-nosed Linklaters, that is, which announced on Thursday that it was looking for some volunteers to defer their start dates (in return for £10,000). But we’re all getting a bit bored of deferrals by now anyway.
The almost universally held view here is that, barring Lehman #2, most decent firms are going to honour the job offers they’ve made, even if they’ve had to defer them. As a result, the focus is turning to the plight of students without job offers. Law school is cheaper here than in the US, but it’s still pretty expensive - around £30,000 ($44,000) for a UK arts major to do the two years of study necessary to become an entry level lawyer. And what, we’re wondering, are these heavily indebted legally qualified people going to do when they find all the new starter jobs taken up by returning deferrers?
To everyone’s relief, London firm Nabarro has come up with a selection process to ensure that the very best are saved from the breadlines: student speed dating.
A couple more things
Listen, this next story doesn’t involve a US firm, but it appears to have been inspired by your coffee chain Starbucks, so keep reading. Bringing the Orwellian spirit of ‘tall’, ‘grande’ and ‘vente’ drink sizes to the legal world, UK firm Cameron McKenna has launched the…’office partner’. According to the firm, office partners have no voting rights or equity share, but are given some extra responsibilities, although not as many as salaried partners get. A bit like a senior associate then?
Meanwhile, legal gossip site Roll on Friday did a survey of best and worst law firm free gifts to students - and US firms’ London offices came out looking pretty bad. While UK outfit Freshfields was whisking off its prospective recruits on daytrips to Paris during its summer programme last year, Cleary was giving them baseballs (we give a fuck about baseball like you give a fuck about soccer), Skadden dishing out pretzels (their appeal is a mystery to us) and Kirkland & Ellis providing 1kg bars of chocolate. Er, thanks.
Elsewhere on our green and pleasant island
Hampstead, a “villagey” London suburb popular with wealthy Americans, is home to Ingrid Myerson, 43, ex-wife of investment tycoon Brian Myerson. In their divorce settlement last year, Brian agreed to pay Ingrid a lot of money. Now, mid-recession, Brian has much less money than before, so he asked a court if he could get a discount on what he has to pay Ingrid. The court said no discount. As a result, Brian and lots of other rich men who got divorced at the same time as Brian are feeling very sad.
What have we learned?
We knew it already: nailing people during the Easter period can come back to haunt you.
Quote of the week
Poster on thelawyer.com: “Why is it that I always think of cufflinks when I hear the word Linklaters?”
For the same reason that I always think of abducting children when I hear the term DLA Piper.
Have a wonderful week.
Earlier: Prior installments of Letter from London (scroll down)
********************
Isaac Smith is ATL’s London columnist. You can reach him by email at isaacsmithlondon@googlemail.com.
(53) Comments
Comments
SUPERLAWYER is first
"The highest placed British firm - not that you care - was Freshfields with deals worth $93bn." OH Haha, I get the shtick of this series -- Americans don't care about Britain. WELL GUESS WHAT? Americans don't care about Britain....shoot this horse.
Do we really have to be subjected to this Brit's ramblings? Bad idea.
Do we really have to be subjected to this Brit's ramblings? Bad idea.
LATHAM NY LAID OFF MORE THAN HALF THE FIRST YEAR CLASS??!!!
Oh dear god why, why???!!!
-scared Latham 3L
Why is Latham loved in England? Because it represents a kick to the groin of the US BigLaw ethos?
What??!!! More than half of the first year class??!!!
*violently craps pants*
-frightened Latham 3L
I am a major fan of Major Applewhite.
some pretty atrocious writing
I'm starting to doubt that London has their own version of ATL if they regard Latham so highly.
Letters from London top 5 is not funny. It is not creative.
Two of the items are food and two are law firms. Did you even try? Isaac have you ever made anyone laugh? Smile? Awkwardly smirk and quickly blurt out that "they have to run"?
8=blatant Texas trolling.
I like it.
You sir, are an idiot. Any self respecting Brit knows that American Idol is British, spawning from Pop Idol on ITV and covered in Nigel's and Simon's dirty fingerprints.
Tall Starbucks coffees are not tall. It's true.
As a Brit at law school in the U.S., I cringe everytime I read these posts. Do us all a favour and please stop this nonsensical, irrelevant babbling. If I wanted to know what was going on in London, I would have stayed there.
@15 - You sir, have nothing on Major Applewhite.
Is there any way I can get my own column on this page titled "life at the fourth tier?" It could be a coming of age tale about going to a fourth tier law school and ultimately deciding to hang yourself. There's no way it can be worse than this column.
I didn't think Pop Tarts were even carried in the UK. I still think this is Elie, desperately trying to give this sinking blog more "relevance." The jokes are always incredibly similar and NOT FUNNY.
Does fish and chips count as ethnic food?
Bangers and mash, bitches!
So the top American thing in the UK is a show that was imported to the US from the UK?
Do the Beatles, the Stones, and Oasis top the list of the UK's favorite American bands?
Latham NY first years were fired alphabetically, by last name. With very few exceptions, only the A, B, C,and Ds were safe.
Did Isaac attend a GULC Writing Seminar?
-GW 1L
T-minus 10 days until new US NEWS RANKINGS
I love GULC trained Somali lawyers.
22, i hear that had to do with how the work coordinator was handing out assignments
I'm going to London on business next week and I was wondering if anyone could give me a recommendation on a good place to kick Isaac in the groin. Nothing too pricey - Thanks!
on no!!!!
*preemptively commits suicide*
-Latham 2L
American Samoa is an island.
Major Applewhite is The Truth.
When the British say "Pop Tarts" do they mean the food or like Britney Spears.
Here in the US we have Italian restaurants, French restaurants, Chinese restaurants, Thai restaurants, Irish restaurants, Mexican restaurants.
But you never see a British restaurant.. Why is that?
Feel like telling these partners to stay home if they are going to yawn loudly in their office all morning. This article was about as boring as listening to them. ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Is duckasslobster served in London? I
My v10 layoff is making me feel so suicidal right now.
-suicidal laid off v10 1st year
30 - Stop thinking franchised fodder, think real restautants. If you live someplace resembling a real city you can find a restaurant serving Brit fare.
@33 = racist
They have some really classy British restaurants in Dallas.
Major Applewhite
Viagra on a Monday, bitches!
I am a 2l/3l at (insert top 20/50 school). Because my grades placed me in the bottom 1/3 (or 1/5 or 1/10) of my class, I did not receive an offer from (insert V20 law firm).
Rather than shutting the fuck up and studying, I have decided to spend my time on abovethelaw.com. In this wonderful place I can anonymously bad mouth (insert V20 firm) and pretend that the reason I did not get an offer from (insert V20 firm) is anything other than the fact that (insert V20 firm) essentially laughed when they saw my pitiful GPA.
I would like to thank abovethelaw.com, and especially Elie, for allowing me to engage in this self delusion by pretending that my lack of a job at (insert V20 firm) is because of (insert V20 firm)'s problems as opposed to my own lack of ability.
Moreover, and more importantly, I also would like to thank abovethelaw.com for allowing me to pretend that, despite my embarrassing GPA, I wouldn't want to work at (insert V20 firm) even if they did offer me a job.
Thank you, abovethelaw.com, for providing me with this. I almost feel better. Without you, I would be lost in a depression based on the fact that I simply could not take care of business when it counted.
But with you by my side, I can comment anonymously while I wipe my tears of failure away.
I LOVE THIS BLOG!
38, way too gay. Try fashionista.
Why does Above The Law love to crap on Cleary so much?
For the record, Roll on Friday also noted "Cleary Gottlieb scores well for leather document cases and champagne." So it's not like they only got baseballs.
I have it from a pretty high up source that Latham steath layoffs (round 2) are coming. You heard it here first.
- I am safe biatches.
What is up with the DLA reference? Doesn't DLA kick butt in London too?
#42 the pied piper you jackass
it's Venti, not vente you starbucks illiterate.
44 - Who stuck a spill stick up your poopchute?
Relax your sphincter and let people be you semantic shitforbrains.
I was going to write a snarky comment about how useless this column is, but I fell asleep before I finished reading it so I really can't be bothered.
Please. fire. Isaac. Just provide a link to Rollonfriday.com, please.
Pop Tarts are sold at ASDA and Tesco and DLA does not kick butt anywhere.
46: Editor of roll on friday
What is an ASDA? Is that the same as a Tesco and a DLA?
Pop Tarts to #1!!
I'm surprised Micky D's wasn't #1. Or just fat americans as #1.
www.laidoffdiary.wordpress.com
this feature blows. it's not funny, entertaining or even informative. if you want uk legal news, you can go to the lawyer or legal week websites. if you want uk legal gossip, you can go to roll on friday website. this feature adds nothing beyond what those already offer.
this article like so many nowadays have nothing to do with everyday people graduating and trying to make it. once again anyone ever cares about or writes about has to do with the super wealthy or insanely poor (even though the latter is 10x more important yet usually gets less coverage). this whole ridiculous collegiate system DOESN'T WORK and needs to be reformed AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. college students don't learn any opinion but what they're "supposed" to know and they all end up drinking themselves to death due to boredom. there aren't going to be any forward speaking/petitioning/acting students left and they will all fall to the wayside. ACT NOW OR FAIL!!!