London, Paris, Istanbul… Milton Keynes. This is the extent of Denton Wilde Sapte’s current network of offices in Western Europe. It makes for an unusual geographic spread. But this somewhat uneven, if not downright quirky European network is not atypical of those on offer at many of London’s large band of mid-market firms.
An outsider might be forgiven for wondering what strategic imperative prompts Berwin Leighton Paisner to operate a one-partner Paris branch. And why does the alliance that Pinsent Masons has with its German partner Luther have a presence in France, Germany and Latvia, but nothing in Spain, Italy and the Netherlands? At Nabarro, clients are offered a “seamless” European service by three different arrangements: a homegrown office in Brussels, “strategic alliances” in France and Germany and a network of best friends everywhere else. Lawrence Graham, on the other hand, relies on “strong working relationships” around the world.
