Law360 has ranked 20 law firms that it believes have the largest global presence and were involved in the biggest, most complex cross-border matters over the past year.
The Global 20 survey is now in its third year, and there have been some interesting developments.
Freshfields takes top spot, up from third last year.
Among the big risers, Shearman & Sterling jumps from 16th to fourth, and Latham & Watkins climbs from 12th to fifth.
Squire Sanders, Norton Rose Fulbright, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Allen & Overy, and Dechert all entered the list.
The top 20 in full:
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- White & Case
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Shearman & Sterling
- Latham & Watkins
- Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
- DLA Piper
- Hogan Lovells
- Baker & McKenzie
- Squire Sanders
- King & Spalding
- K&L Gates
- Sidley Austin
- Norton Rose Fulbright
- Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Gibson Dunn
- Allen & Overy
- Jones Day
- Dechert
- Mayer Brown
How did Law360 select the firms?
A mixture of quantitative and qualitative factors, they say, such as the percentage of attorneys located outside the firm’s home country, the number of offices outside the firm’s home country, and the number of countries in which the firm has offices.
Law360’s staff also reviewed the cross-border matters handled by each firm.
Interestingly, the listed firms have an average of 49.5 percent of their attorneys located abroad.
Law360 operates a daily subscription news service covering the full range of practice areas.
The site was founded in 2005 by Magnus Hoglund and Marius Meland, and famously began life in a Starbucks café.
In 2012, Law360’s parent company, Portfolio Media, was acquired by the legal publishing giant, LexisNexis.
[…] The Global 20 survey, now in its third year, placed Freshfields in the top spot. […]