“Local office, national reach” was once the mantra of many an ambitious regional practice, as firms sought to broaden their client offering while avoiding the inherent difficulties of setting up shop in an unfamiliar market.
Recent years have seen the popularity of that model wane, with a clutch of regional advisers either building national networks of their own or seeing their focus gravitate towards the City. A determination to succeed in the world’s second-largest legal market has therefore become an increasingly common trait among many of the leading regional players across the UK and, in particular, the south.
