"If I had been sitting here last year and you'd asked me about growth plans, I wouldn't have been able to predict what happened."

Goodwin Procter London co-head Paul Lyons is reflecting on the rapid expansion the US firm has made in London and Europe during the past 12 months. In hindsight, the hire of former King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) corporate co-head Richard Lever in 2015 has proved hugely beneficial, with a number of Lever's former KWM colleagues subsequently joining him at the US firm.