Editing Law firm (section)

==Size==
[[File:Eteläesplanadi 20 - Hannes Snellman - Helsinki - m.jpg|thumb|Building occupied by Hannes Snellman Attorneys Ltd, a major law firm operating in [[Finland]], [[Sweden]] and [[Russia]], on the [[Eteläesplanadi]] street in [[Helsinki]], [[Uusimaa]], Finland]]
Law firms can vary widely in size. The smallest law firms are lawyers practicing alone, who form the vast majority of law practices in nearly all countries.<ref>Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr. & Angelo Dondi, ''Legal Ethics: A Comparative Study'' ([[Stanford University Press]], 2004), 39.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chambersstudent.co.uk/Articles/316 |title=Different types of law firm in the UK |publisher=Chambersstudent.co.uk |date=2010-08-01 |access-date=2011-08-08}}</ref>

Smaller firms tend to focus on particular specialties of the law (e.g. [[patent law]], [[labor law]], [[tax law]], criminal defense, personal injury); larger firms may be composed of several specialized practice groups, allowing the firm to diversify its client base and market, and to offer a variety of services to their clients.<ref>Wayne L. Anderson and Marilyn J. Headrick, ''The Legal Profession: Is it for you?'' (Cincinnati: Thomson Executive Press, 1996), 111.</ref>

Large law firms usually have separate litigation and transactional departments. The transactional department advises clients and handles transactional legal work, such as drafting contracts, handling necessary legal applications and filings, and evaluating and ensuring compliance with relevant law; while the litigation department represents clients in court and handles necessary matters (such as discovery and motions filed with the court) throughout the process of litigation.

=== Anglo-American development ===
==== Boutique law firms ====
Lawyers in small cities and towns may still have old-fashioned general practices, but most urban lawyers tend to be highly specialized due to the overwhelming complexity of the law today.<ref>Nelson, 172, and Trotter, 50.</ref> Thus, some small firms in the cities specialize in practicing only one kind of law (like [[employment]], [[antitrust]], [[intellectual property]], [[investment funds]], [[telecommunications]] or aviation) and are called [[boutique law firm]]s.<ref>Lawrence M. Friedman, ''American Law in the 20th Century'' ([[Yale University Press]], 2002), 462.</ref>

==== Virtual law firms ====
A 21st century development has been the appearance of the [[virtual law firm]], a firm with a virtual business address but no brick & mortar office location open to the public, using modern telecommunications to operate from remote locations and provide its services to international clients, avoiding the costs of maintaining a physical premises with lower overheads than traditional law firms. This lower cost structure allows virtual law firms to bill clients on a contingency basis rather than by billable hours paid in advance by retainer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.excellolaw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/p10_SJJune14th.pdf|last=Boyall|first=Sue|title=Free Range|publisher=Solicitors Journal|date=June 2011|access-date=2012-05-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916131630/http://www.excellolaw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/p10_SJJune14th.pdf|archive-date=2012-09-16|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Related innovations include alternative legal services provider (ALSP), [[legal outsourcing]] and what is sometimes called "NewLaw".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sigurdsonpost.com/2018/01/14/the-evolving-legal-service-delivery-model-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-a-2018-survival-guide-for-biglaw-and-traditional-law-firms-building-the-new-law-firm-business-model/|title=The Evolving Legal Service Delivery Model: A 2018 Survival Guide for BigLaw and Traditional Law Firms – building a new business model|last=Sigurdson|first=Eric|date=2018-01-14|website=Sigurdson Post|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-13}}</ref>

The largest law firms have more than {{FORMATNUM:1000}} lawyers. These firms, often colloquially called "megafirms" or "[[List of largest law firms by revenue|BigLaw]]", generally have offices on several continents, bill US$750 per hour or higher, and have a high ratio of support staff per attorney.<ref>Trotter, 56.</ref><ref>Richard L. Abel, ''American Lawyers'' (New York: [[Oxford University Press]], 1989), 190-199.</ref> Because of the localized and regional nature of firms, the relative size of a firm varies.<ref>Anderson, 113.</ref>

=== BigLaw firms ===
{{See also|List of largest law firms by revenue}}
The largest U.S.-based firms are often referenced as "BigLaw" firms,<ref name="Regan_Page_5">{{cite book |last1=Regan |first1=Mitt |last2=Rohrer |first2=Lisa H. |title=BigLaw: Money and Meaning in the Modern Law Firm |date=2021 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=9780226742274 |page=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4-YGEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |access-date=April 1, 2024}}</ref> a phrase often used to describe large law firms that follow the [[Cravath System]]'s "loosely pyramid-shaped hierarchy of advancement".<ref>Sullivan, Oliver [https://www.lawyer-monthly.com/2023/06/a-brief-history-of-biglaw/ "A Brief History of BigLaw"] ''Lawyer Monthly'', June 30, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2024.</ref> BigLaw firms typically specialize in all categories of legal work with high billable hour rates, including [[mergers and acquisitions]] transactions, banking, and corporate litigation. These firms rarely do plaintiffs' personal injury work. However, in terms of revenue and employee headcount, the largest law firms are still smaller than their counterparts in other types of professional services like consulting and accounting.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

In 2008, the largest law firm in the world was the British firm [[Clifford Chance]], which had revenue of over US$2 billion. In 2020, [[Kirkland & Ellis]] came out on top with US$4.15 billion in revenue while [[Hogan Lovells]] rounded out the list at number ten with US$2.25 billion. Clifford Chance remains the only British firm among the top 10 considered "BigLaw". This can be compared with $404 billion for the world's largest firm by turnover [[ExxonMobil]] and $28 billion for the largest professional services firm [[Deloitte]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Deloitte ascends to become the largest private professional services organization worldwide|url=http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GX/global/press/global-press-releases-en/78ed944968a7b210VgnVCM1000001956f00aRCRD.htm|publisher=Deloitte.com|access-date=5 June 2011}}</ref>

=== Worldwide ===
[[File:855 Main Street.jpg|thumb|British law firms in [[Silicon Valley]]: As of 2025, this [[Redwood City, California]] office building was home to branch offices of [[Hogan Lovells]] and [[Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer]]]]
The largest law firms in the world are headquartered primarily in the United Kingdom, where they are deemed part of the [[Magic Circle (law firms)|Magic Circle]], and in the United States, where they are known as "[[List of largest law firms by revenue|BigLaw]]" firms. Large firms of more than 1,000 lawyers are also found in Australia ([[MinterEllison]], 1,500 attorneys), China (Dacheng, 2,100 attorneys) and Spain (Garrigues, 2,100 attorneys). The American system of licensing attorneys on a state-by-state basis, the tradition of having a headquarters in a single U.S. state and a close focus on profits per partner (as opposed to sheer scale) has to date limited the size of most American law firms. Thus, whilst the most profitable law firms in the world remain in New York, four of the six largest firms in the world are based in London in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bmacewen.com/blog/archives/2005/11/amlaw_global_10.html |title=Bmacewen.com |publisher=Bmacewen.com |date=2005-11-04 |access-date=2011-08-08}}</ref> The sheer size of the United States results in a larger number of large firms overall – a 2003 paper noted that the U.S. had 901 law firms with more than 50 lawyers, while there were only 58 such firms in Canada, 44 in Great Britain, 14 in France, and 9 in Germany.<ref>Eliane Botelho Junqueira, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wEMUKyPTE9AC&pg=PA92 "Brazil: The Road of Conflict Bound for Total Justice,"] in ''Legal Culture in the Age of Globalization: Latin America and Latin Europe'', eds. Lawrence M. Friedman and Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo, 64-107 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003), 92.</ref> During the 21st century, law firms have increased activity in transatlantic mergers,<ref>Paddison, Laura [https://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/dec/10/uk-magic-circle-versus-us-biglaw "Magic circle v US biglaw"] ''The Guardian'', December 10, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2024.</ref> with globalisation of firms reaching an all-time peak in 2021.<ref>Paddison, Laura [https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/what-did-2021s-global-mergers-and-acquisition-boom-mean-for-lawyers/ "What did 2021’s global mergers and acquisition boom mean for lawyers?"] ''Thomas Reuters'', December 15, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2024.</ref> Both UK and U.S. firms are reported as continuing to seek an increasingly global reach, through mergers and acquisitions, in 2024.<ref>Booth, James [https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/law-firm-leaders-on-2024-going-global-and-scoring-mega-mergers-20240110 "Law firm leaders on 2024: Going global and scoring mega-mergers"] ''Financial News'', January 9, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.</ref> 

Due to their size, the U.S.- and U.K.-based law firms are the most prestigious and powerful in the world, and they tend to dominate the international market for legal services. A 2007 research paper noted that firms from other countries merely pick up their leftovers: "[M]uch of the competition is relatively orderly whereby predominantly Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian firms compete for business not required by English or American law firms."<ref>Ashly<!-- Ashly is the correct spelling of the author's name--> H. Pinnington & John T. Gray, [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09695950701616515 "The global restructuring of legal services work? A study of the internationalisation of Australian law firms,"] <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">14 Int'l J. Legal Prof. 147, 151-152 (2007).</span></ref>

Since the early 1970s, the largest U.K. law firms have struggled to break into the much larger U.S. legal market, with only limited success in establishing footholds along the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] in important markets like New York City.<ref name="Beioley">{{cite news |last1=Beioley |first1=Kate |title=London's 'magic circle' law firms make renewed bid to crack US |url=https://www.ft.com/content/3b987678-bc32-4d78-a71b-1a1a3b592ace |access-date=February 3, 2024 |work=Financial Times |date=August 8, 2022 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 2020, several of the largest U.K. firms began to invest in expansion into multiple regions of the United States, such as [[Silicon Valley]].<ref name="Beioley" /> However, as of early 2024, the largest U.K. firms were losing ground on their home turf in London to rapid growth by the largest U.S. firms and were forced to raise salaries in response.<ref name="Tribe">{{cite news |last1=Tribe |first1=Meghan |title=Elite UK Firms Are Losing London Salary Battle to US Invaders |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/elite-uk-firms-are-losing-london-salary-battle-to-us-invaders |access-date=February 3, 2024 |work=Bloomberg Law |date=January 29, 2024}}</ref> The Americans recruited many British solicitors by offering more generous salaries, but also brought with them a different [[work–life interface|work-life balance]], with higher billable hours requirements and the American expectation that lawyers routinely work on weekends.<ref name="Tribe" />

=== Recession ===
As a result of the [[Great Recession|U.S. recession]] of 2007 to 2009, many American law firms downsized personnel, while others permanently shuttered. On February 12, 2009, ''[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]]'' reported that 700 jobs were cut during that single day at law firms nationwide.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fortado |first=Lindsay |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWC1nJ1AQX3I&refer=home |title=Bloomberg, Law Firms in US eliminate 700 jobs as economy slows, 13 February 2009 |publisher=Bloomberg.com |date=2009-02-13 |access-date=2011-08-08}}</ref> The ''[[Denver Post]]'' reported that major law firms cut more than 10,000 jobs nationwide in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|last=Vuong |first=Andy |url=http://www.denverpost.com/theeconomy/ci_12050886 |title=Denver Post, Big law firms cut attorneys, staff in tight economy, 2 April 2009 |publisher=Denverpost.com |date=2010-09-14 |access-date=2011-08-08}}</ref> Among closed firms of the era was [[Heller Ehrman]], a San Francisco-based law practice established in 1890.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/25/BUQF135ES8.DTL&tsp=1 |title=San Francisco Chronicle, Heller Ehrman law firm to dissolve Friday, 26 September 2008 |publisher=Sfgate.com |date=2008-09-26 |access-date=2011-08-08}}</ref> Similarly, [[Halliwells]] of the UK was dissolved in 2010.<ref>'Halliwells administrators report reveals details of financial fallout', [http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/1734157/halliwells-administrators-report-reveals-details-financial-fallout ''Legal Week''], 20 Sep 2010</ref> Law firm layoffs became so common that trade publications like ''[[American Lawyer]]'' produced an ongoing "Layoff List" of the law firms nationwide experiencing personnel cuts.<ref>[http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=1202425647706&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1 American Lawyer, The Layoff List], 3 Sept 2009</ref>