Global Policy Forum

by Doron F. Ezickson*

The growth and geographic reach of US and UK law firms is accelerating with cross-country and intercontinental mergers. Traditional limitations on the geographic scope of law firms are falling away. The consolidation mirrors those that have swept other service industries, including banking and accounting.

In Boston, the past year has seen the merger or dissolution of numerous firms, and the trend toward national and international law firms will continue. If managed effectively, the transformation of legal services from local to global should provide a competitive advantage to both Boston law firms and, more important, the clients they serve.

For a city full of venerable law firms with admirable traditions, where pedigree has sometimes been judged not in decades but in centuries, the nationalization of legal services has been slow to come. Many of the city's top firms have tried to diversify their geographic locations over the years through incremental growth in other New England and Mid-Atlantic states and occasionally Western and Eastern Europe. Few have been successful at achieving a critical mass of lawyers in those cities and creating a top-tier presence comparable to their reputations in Boston.

National and international expansion of Boston law firms is important for the local economy. Law firms are significant employers in Boston and other New England cities and play an important role in supporting local charitable institutions. But to maintain and grow their market share, Boston firms must offer their clients the ability to solve legal problems in many jurisdictions and across scores of practice areas. This capability benefits local businesses as well.

New England companies are competing for business across the globe and require law firms to keep pace by providing local access to legal solutions in multiple states and countries. Similarly, national and international firms with a Boston presence can provide more breadth and depth of expertise to New England clients, again through a local portal.

The future success of the numerous top-tier legal practices in Boston is also dependent on their ability to export their deep legal expertise to markets across the United States and potentially the globe. Boston lawyers should excel in this competition if they commit to build or join firms with strength outside this region.

The firms that will succeed are those that offer lawyers a competitive service platform that enables lawyers to offer clients a wide array of resources to meet their legal needs. Multilocation firms also provide an important geographic and economic sector hedge for lawyers, which can also benefit their clients. The diversity of a firm's locations and its practices can mean stability in downward economic cycles that cannot be provided in single-location firms. Such firms are highly dependent on the economic performance of their region as well as the industry sectors on which they focus. By contrast, larger firms, if well managed, can easily absorb a regional or industry sector slowdown and therefore mitigate, if not avoid, the severe disruption that can result from downsizing.

A review of recent law firm developments in Boston signals a positive trend toward national and international firm models. Bingham, Dana's merger with McCutchen Doyle created the first true national firm with a Boston base. The arrival of Weil, Gotshal & Manges reflects the value perceived by Wall Street firms of substantial offices in markets beyond New York and London. The continued growth of Nixon Peabody is based on a superregional model.

McDermott, Will & Emery's addition of offices in London, Munich, and Dusseldorf demonstrates the importance to its clients of a Western European network that parallels its eight-office US network. In the coming months, additional firms will arrive in Boston and no doubt other Boston firms will merge with or acquire firms around the country and in Europe. These are welcome developments that should be embraced by our city's top legal practitioners and encouraged by the Boston business community. Enabling our best lawyers to export their services to clients across the country and the globe will ensure that Boston remains an important center of legal excellence in the global economy.

Doron F. Ezickson is a member of the executive committee and managing partner of the Boston office of McDermott, Will & Emery.

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