Born in the USA
updated on 10 June 2008
US firms have a markedly different approach to practising law than their UK forefathers, from management structure to office environment. Even the way they recruit differs. Covington & Burling recently won the LawCareers.Net award for Best Recruiter - US Firm in the City. "It's all down to hard work, right up to the senior lawyers of the firm," explained Grant Castle, training principal responsible for graduate recruitment at Covington & Burling in London, on accepting the award. "All our interviewees meet five or six partners, which reflects our non-hierarchical structure."
Companionable co-workers
When Bill Gates' dorm room project became the world's most powerful company, Gates himself became a personification of the American Dream, in line with other famous CEOs. While Gates and his peers were passionate, entrepreneurial and bedecked in slacks and deck shoes, the bosses of large UK companies were still choking in their tight shirt collars. This difference, while superficial, does help us appreciate diverse management styles. US companies are famed for their lighter management touch, group hugs and - shock! - welcoming attitude to flip flops in the office. Sandals may be out of the question at Weil Gotshal but, as Ken says, informal corridor banter is embraced.
Orrick has a similarly familiar approach, says Wessen Jazrawi, a trainee approaching qualification. "There isn't a sense of dodging the managing partner - he's just one of the lawyers as much as anyone else." This non-hierarchical structure fosters a mutually respectful environment, something you don't always see in large UK firms. Grant has seen both sides. Before he became a lawyer, Grant worked as a "happy and fulfilled" paralegal at Covington & Burling. But when he moved on to his training contract at a magic circle firm, the experience left him feeling devalued. "I spent a double seat in one department," he remembers. "And after 10 months there, the partner who headed the group still didn't know my name." He returned to Covington upon qualification and is now a partner with the life sciences practice. "At Covington, partners make an effort to talk to and engage people in all levels of the firm," he explains. "It's a genuinely friendly environment."
But US firms are shrewd commercial organisations; having a relaxed culture is a business strategy, supporting a team spirit. "You do feel as if you're part of a joint enterprise," says Grant. "You tend to feel a lot of loyalty to your colleagues and the firm." Grant's words reveal how lawyers at US firms are not only valued team members, they're part of an enterprise. Ken describes this as "entrepreneurial flair", which sounds as Yankee as having your eggs served sunnyside up - but it's a central part of US firms' culture. "There is a real buzz about the office," says Ken. "An enviable culture full of purpose, energy and excitement."
Frontier force
It's this entrepreneurial spirit that drove US firms to London in the first place. In the Seventies, august, institutionalised US firms such as Cravath Swaine & Moore and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett moved to London in order to serve clients better. They didn't even need any UK-qualified lawyers; the firms had a captive client base in London with the need for US lawyers. White & Case, one of the first US firms to arrive in London, bucked that early trend by expanding its City office. With 346 lawyers, White & Case's London base is now the largest of any non-merged US firm; the fact that 80% of its lawyers are UK-qualified proves US firms in London can expand into the UK market. By the Nineties, two of the world's largest firms had arrived: Skadden and Latham & Watkins, which recently became the first US firm to break the $2 billion turnover mark. New ground will be forged once again, when Quinn Emanuel Urguhart Oliver & Hedges lands in London later this year. The firm, an aggressive litigation outfit, will pick up the work other firms dare not touch, such as suing the big banks when necessary. "It's a very clever business model," says Ken. "They're competing in a space where there's not a lot of competition."
However, Grant says that in general, "London is the most competitive legal market in the world". Wessen adds: "You can't do business with offices in other parts of the world without an outpost in London." But Orrick didn't want just an outpost; along with Weil Gotshal, in the mid-Nineties the firm followed White & Case's lead in establishing a London base in its own right. For US firms, London was another frontier. And with a more entrepreneurial history, lawyers in US firms have tended to be more open to venture into what Grant terms the "business space", with clients frequently asking for speculative business advice.
There's no escape (from New York)
In addition to taking on more diverse roles, lawyers at US firms in London also have a higher level of responsibility, most notably early on in their careers. "There's only going to be one trainee on any one deal and no one's going to hold your hand," says Wessen. The intimacy of US firms' London bases makes this even more evident. Latham & Watkins may have 2,200 lawyers, but only 160 of them are in London. This trend is also evident in trainee numbers: while the average large City firm has 200 trainees, Latham & Watkins takes on just 10 a year. At Orrick, Wessen is one of only 15 trainees in the London office. "As a direct consequence of that I take on more responsibility," she explains.
Covington recruits trainees who are eager for this level of visibility in a non-hierarchical environment. "Also," says Grant, "many US firms don't really understand the traditional concept of a trainee. Folks who've trained in the United States tend to think that a trainee is an associate who's undergoing some kind of additional training. So many people engage with our trainees as if they're qualified associates - and if they're willing and able to perform they'll be given a lot of responsibility." Grant knows how frustrating it is to be denied responsibility; during his magic circle training contract, he "spent one afternoon doing legal research. And that was on the extent to which you can have intellectual property in a strawberry (you can)".
Ken confirms that junior lawyers at Weil Gotshal have a dignified responsibility level. According to Ken, this is an inevitable result of the difference between UK and US systems of training. "A newly qualified lawyer in London, by virtue of the fact that they have more experience, will get a higher level of work and responsibility than a first-year associate in the United States." He's tight-lipped on which he thinks is the better system but notes diplomatically that "there is a lot to be said of the UK trainee programme".
Join US
So where do you fit in? If you want to be on the team there are a number of things you need to be sensitive to. US firms in the City look for the usual A-grade academics, sparkling personality and commercial awareness. But potential trainees also need the self-sufficient instinct Wessen identifies. This initiative will help you stay afloat in a non-hierarchical structure where you're working directly with partners. Grant identifies two further attributes he can't live without: sound legal and analytical skills, and clear writing skills. A scientist by trade, there was one thing that surprised Grant when he became a lawyer. "There's an awful lot of work done by law firms that involves little or no law," he says. "If you're working on a $100 billion deal in a corporate powerhouse, there'll be a lot of people working on that but few will be providing legal advice." So because Covington has a history of dealing with cutting-edge, often technical legal issues, and because its London office is relatively tight, you'll need a shrewd legal and analytical mind. Grant's second want - a flair for clear writing - is also linked to the firm's history of pioneering plain English.
Firms have many methods of testing candidates to see if they'll fit in. Most are much more sophisticated than the usual Q&A interview. "I can't describe the personality type we look for because we have lots of different types," says Ken, of Weil Gotshal's recruitment process. "But part of our interview process is having the assistant solicitors meet applicants in a social setting. Then we solicit the assistants' feedback." The procedure at Covington has similarly subtle workings. "Historically, Covington has encouraged outside interests," explains Grant. The firm has lawyers who teach, one who writes spy novels and one whose paintings are exhibited in public galleries in Washington, DC and Tokyo. "So I quite like people who are quirky. People who have something individual about them. That's an attraction to a firm like ours."
The railroad to success
US firms in the City offer more than quirky colleagues; many argue they offer a better training environment. Ken says: "Our London office is far removed from a magic circle factory; we are a close-knit select community where everyone knows each other and enjoys working together."
From their gentle entrance in the Seventies to the latest aggressive business models, US firms have a dynamic presence in London. They're shrewd, wealthy and well placed to retain their position in the market, which means they can offer junior solicitors robust training at the highest, international level. And an opportunity to crack jokes at work.
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