Weil Gotshal & Manges has hired bluechip management consultant McKinsey & Company to review the US law firm's international strategy.

The initiative, which is being led by the Wall Street firm's executive partner, Barry Wolf, is an attempt to analyse Weil's current global offering, and to review which jurisdictions to prioritise for expansion. The appointment was first reported by Legal Business.

Though the firm currently stands as the 12th largest law firm globally in revenue terms, with 2009 fee income of $1.23bn (£768m), only 25% of its lawyers are currently based outside of the US.

One partner told Legal Week that they believe that the firm's New York management is intent on expanding the firm's global practice. While Weil has built a respected City corporate practice since launching in the UK in 1996, rivals have questioned whether the firm has done enough to expand its restructuring and finance teams in Europe.

The firm remains well placed for future investment with its market-leading US bankruptcy practice winning a string of marquee deals in recent years, including advising on the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the restructuring of GM (pictured).

Weil joins a select band of major law firms that have instructed McKinsey, one of the most prestigious – and expensive – names in corporate consultancy.

Other firms to have been advised by McKinsey in recent years include White & Case and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae also called on the consultant to help with integration issues for their 2007 union, in one of the largest legal mergers ever in the US.

McKinsey also undertook a nine-month research project for White & Case, starting in 2008, as part of a substantial shake-up of the law firm's global governance.