At a conference recently, a senior lawyer from Credit Suisse advised delegates to shop further than the top-tier advisers in their respective jurisdictions as a means of keeping a lid on costs – the logic being that you “don’t have to spend $900-an-hour with Sullivan & Cromwell” for much of your run-of-the-mill work.
At those levels, UK clients may have gotten it wrong by shipping work out to mid-tier City and regional firms – perhaps they should be instructing the London arms of Wall Street’s finest if they want cheaper bills.
