Few Magic Circle Firms in DC
London’s top five “Magic Circle” law firms have offices throughout the world, but they appear reluctant to enter the U.S. capital.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has only about 20 lawyers in Washington, D.C., and Clifford Chance has about 60, Legal Times reports. Other firms have stayed away.
Giles Rubens, a consultant for Hildebrandt International in London, told the legal publication that D.C. is not a priority because work there largely focuses on regulatory and antitrust matters.
“If you look at their business elsewhere in the world, it’s about very large-scale transactions, and it’s also about work in the financial centers—capital markets, if you like,” he said. “If you look at it from that point of view, Washington is going to be pretty low on their priorities.”
