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\t\tUS law firms are claiming the biggest disputes in the City \t<\/p>\n\t\t\tMonday 25 May 2026 4:31 pm\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tUS law firms are claiming the biggest disputes in the City \t<\/p>\n
US law firms are securing some of the biggest legal disputes in London and positioning themselves at the top of the litigation food chain, according to a new report <\/a>from consultancy Solomonic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over 100 US legal outfits have \u201cevidently established themselves as a go-to choice for the most complex, highest-value and most trial-intensive disputes in London\u201d, with a few top firms taking on a large number of claims.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the past decade, American law firms\u2019 strategy in the City has been driven by \u201caggressive lateral hiring, eye-watering pay and rapid office growth\u201d, all of which \u201chave signalled a sustained and deliberate investment into London litigation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n American firms <\/a>are also shunning smaller legal disputes to focus exclusively on the largest, highest stakes lawsuits, cherry picking the most expensive cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the report, while only 4 per cent of all disputes in the UK over the past six years involved legal groups in the US, the average value of a dispute weighs in at \u00a310m, thirteen times higher than the overall value of UK litigation of \u00a3740,000.<\/p>\n US firms \u201chave not sought to compete across the full breadth of English litigation \u2013 they have targeted the most financially and strategically significant disputes,\u201d the consultancy said. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile US firms may still represent a relatively small proportion of the overall litigation market, they are increasingly concentrated in the complex disputes that matter most financially,\u201d the report said.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the report, the most active US firms in high-stakes City litigation between 2020 and 2025 were Cleary Gotlieb<\/a>, Quinn Emanuel, Reed Smith, Jones Day, and Morgan Lewis, which were involved with over 100 claims each over that period.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tBurges Salmon and Wexler roll out firm-wide legal AI partnership<\/a><\/p>\n Top US firms Baker McKenzie and Scott & Scott follow closely behind, both filing 99 claims in the City over the past six years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Aggressive\u2019 litigators\u00a0<\/p>\n Almost one in five, or roughly 20 per cent, of all high-value commercial claims brought in London\u2019s Commercial Court between 2023 and 2025 involved at least one US-headquartered law firm.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alongside this, of all the claims involving American firms in UK litigation, 21 per cent reach a trial, compared to an average of only 9 per cent of cases led by those based in the UK, which are more likely to opt for settling disputes instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n Solomonic said this is \u201cthe most striking difference\u201d between US firms and those in the UK, which are \u201csignificantly more likely to take claims all the way to trial\u201d, with American lawyers known to be belligerent litigators.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUS firms are perceived as more aggressive litigators, particularly given their reputation in the US market and their growing involvement in funded disputes, class actions and competition claims,\u201d the consultancy said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Practices across the pond are also leading hiring in the City<\/a>, driven by a focus on building out private capital teams.<\/p>\n According to figures by legal recruiter Edwards Gibson, law firms in London<\/a> hired 668 partners over the year, a 21 per cent increase on data from the previous year, with the US dominating the hiring uptick. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n