The rise of large, high-quality, global corporate law departments started more than 20 years ago. It was aimed, in part, at breaking up the “monopolies” that firms had with corporations. Using a range of initiatives from requests for proposals to auctions, in-house counsel sought to end these cozy relationships and introduce a measure of competition into the firm-client dynamic. The mantra of “lawyers, not law firms” was uttered so often that it became a cliché.
Because of these pressures, among others, firms increasingly focused on becoming more effective business organizations. Some followed globalizing clients and looked to provide cross-specialty, cross-border service, either through acquisitions or organic growth, or both. This trend led to the rise of global megafirms — such as Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Jones Day, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy, White & Case, Latham & Watkins, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom — with about 2,000 lawyers plus or minus 10 percent, a significant proportion of whom practice outside their home country.
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