A couple of months ago, the public relations department of a Scottish firm took Legal Week to task for not calling it a ‘national firm’.

The argument was that the firm was well-established in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London and doing both English and Scots law for English, Scottish and international clients. Ergo, it was a national firm, whereas Hammond Suddards Edge and Eversheds – firms that, although in Europe, were only in one of the union’s jurisdictions – were not.