The moribund state of the UK litigation recruitment market is hardly surprising. Litigation has always been regarded as a counter-cyclical activity. And then there is the impact of the Woolf reforms. In such an environment, you are hardly going to get a rush of lateral hiring or – for that matter – internal promotions. At Lovells and Fresh-fields Bruckhaus Deringer, which acted opposite each other in the Bank of England/BCCI dispute, not a single London-based commercial litigator was admitted to the partner-ship this year, while at Herbert Smith just one commercial litigator made the grade. Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, which has become something of a bellwether for the health of the litigation market, recorded a drop in turnover during what was a record financial year for many top 50 firms.
Does this spell the death knell for litigation departments in the leading UK commercial firms? For as long as clients are vulnerable to dawn raids or reputation-critical disputes, these practices will remain committed to litigation. After all, turning down calls for help from your client during its hour of greatest need is never likely to go down well.
