It’s been about a year since Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer decided to expand its U.S. operations outside of the I-95 corridor, setting up shop in Silicon Valley with an eye for increased work with tech clients. According to the firm, things are going quite well, fueled by an active IPO and M&A market, expanding antitrust work, the ability of the firm to recruit local talent and, as it turns out, a bit of curiosity on the part of prospective clients.
![Sarah Solum](https://images.law.com/contrib/content/uploads/sites/403/2021/07/Sarah-Solum-Vert-202107080934-200x300.jpg)
According to Sarah Solum, who heads the new office as well as Freshfields’ U.S. capital markets practice, and Ethan Klingsberg, head of the firm’s U.S. corporate and M&A group, the above factors drove a first year that exceeded the firm’s expectations and fostered the belief that they can succeed where other firms have had issues in the past.