US firms in the UK

There are roughly 100 US and transatlantic firms with a presence in the UK. Around half offer training contracts – they offer roughly 700 between them. The table below can be used as a starting point for finding out more about firms that operate in the UK market, having originated in the States.

By looking at Chambers UK, Chambers USA, Chambers Europe, Chambers Asia-Pacific, Chambers Latin America and Chambers Global you can track each firm's performance across the various countries in which it works. Our sister publication Chambers Associate gives detailed analysis of firms' reputations in the US recruitment market.

The overview of firms below is split into two sections. The first part lists US firms that have opened up an office London and grown it from scratch, while the second part lists US firms that have entered the UK market via a merger with an established British firm. There are significant differences between the two types, which we detail below. Bear in mind that certain firms in the second category had their own office in London prior to merger (sometimes well established).

New London office openings by US firms in 2017/18 included Californian tech specialist Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; Goodwin and Fried Frank launched training contracts after salvaging trainees from the wreckage of King & Wood Mallesons' European arm. Another transatlantic titan was formed in November 2017 when American Womble tied the knot with UK national firm Bond Dickinson, forming a 26 office global operation, Womble Bond Dickinson. Merger fever continued into 2018 as UK-based Berwin Leighton Paisner joined forces with American Bryan Cave; the two firms' existing London offices fused under the new name Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.

Remember, while many of the firms below happily embrace the term ‘US firm’, others do not describe themselves as such, preferring the term ‘international firm’. You’ll get a sense of what to call them from the terminology used on their websites or from the True Picture.