If Daniel Hurstel’s schedule on Thursday 27 March was anything to go by, the Paris legal market is in decent health. The head of Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s office in the French capital, Hurstel was frantically attempting to juggle two deals while explaining parts of the US firm’s strategy in London to a visitor. The Paris mood is cautious but it falls short of the outright pessimism of New York or the uncertainty of London.
“There’s some nervousness about volatility, but a lot of our corporate clients are looking at opportunities,” says Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton partner Pierre-Yves Chabert, echoing a common sentiment in the market. Some US law firms are looking at opportunities, too. For Willkie and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, Paris has become the power-base of their European operations as they put expansion plans to the fore.
