By now, the cultural differences between US and UK law firms have been amply talked through on both sides of the pond. Yet, as UK firms explore growth opportunities in the US and the US firms do likewise in the UK, and as the dozen or so transatlantic mergers continue to yield varying results, the contrasts in how many of these law firms do business often seem intractable.
Chief among these differences are the purely financial. The compensation systems of UK firms tend to be based on lockstep, while US firms utilise merit-based compensation systems with a significantly greater emphasis on origination. The British bill fewer hours, although they have higher hourly rates than US firms. Arguably, the US firms have been more impelled toward non-hourly ‘alternative’ billing, that offers clients attractive alternative options to standard hourly systems.
