Legal Mosaic Essays on Legal Delivery

<strong>Legal</strong> <strong>Mosaic</strong>: <strong>Essays</strong> on <strong>Legal</strong> Delivery
legal marketplace as well as base camp for the globalization of legal
services?
Three recent developments involving the Magic Circle, a mid-sized,
provincial firm, and the retail segment underscore the dynamism of
the UK market and its influence on the wave of globalization sweeping
across the legal vertical. Let’s briefly examine each and weigh its
impact on the legal industry.
Ta-Ta to Lockstep in the Magic Circle
“The Magic Circle” is a term used to describe five leading law firms
headquartered in the UK, as well as four or five leading London-based
commercial barristers’ chambers. The moniker has come to be synonymous
with the UK’s corporate legal elite in terms of prestige, profitper-partner,
and client rosters. And its sway is not limited to the UK;
four Magic Circle members ranked in the top ten of all firms globally
based upon revenues. Historically, these firms have had a “lockstep”
compensation model for partners wherein one’s points increased with
years of service. Though the Magic Circle’s U.S. counterpart, the larger
AmLaw 100, had largely abandoned lockstep during the past couple
decades (with a few salient exceptions among its most elite ranks),
the Brits clung to their “the firm first” approach. But that has changed
recently. Though member firms Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, and
Linklaters have not abandoned lockstep, they have all recently adopted
some form of “bonus pool” which enables them to reward those who
make exception contributions to the firm (read: exceptional rainmakers)
beyond the upper end of the lockstep formula. And this includes
coveted laterals. What’s the big deal? It’s another example of a changing
legal landscape and additional evidence that the UK stalwarts are
fortifying themselves with ammunition they deem necessary to expand
aggressively to new markets where they can now compete more successfully
for “superstars.” And make no mistake about the global as-
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