Why Europe could be the next growth play for UK law firms

As much of the UK legal market fixates on US expansion and private equity work, ex-DLA Piper boss Simon Levine thinks a different opportunity is being overlooked.

“There’s a vacuum opening up,” says Levine, now an adviser to Shoosmiths. “Lots of firms are putting their chargeable rates up and pointing their face towards the US - and in doing that, they’re starting to move away from how they built their businesses.”

The Europe opportunity

Speaking on The Non-Billable Podcast, Levine argues the trend is leaving space in Europe for well-run UK mid-market firms with the right sector focus. Clients, he says, still have large volumes of “really important commercial, regulatory and litigation-type work” that they “cannot justify paying private equity-type hourly rates for”.

“For a firm that can operate across jurisdictions, knows its sectors and can do that work at a rate clients can justify paying, that’s huge,” Levine says. “I think clients are looking for that now.”

Levine should know a thing or two about growing a law firm. After building a leading IP practice he led a 50-lawyer team to DLA Piper in 2005, still one of the largest lateral moves in the UK market. He went on to serve as managing partner and global co-CEO from 2014, ultimately running a firm with revenues north of $4 billion.

Know what you’re good at

He sends a warning to those trying to reinvent themselves overnight. “There’s a temptation for firms to feel the only way they can succeed is to be top-tier private equity or M&A,” he says. “But it’s pretty clear there are only a very small number of firms that are ever going to be able to do that.”

“When the market knows you and loves you for being one thing, and you suddenly want to be something else, that’s dangerous.”

Europe, by contrast, offers a more natural extension for UK firms with the right profile. Levine points to Germany, France and the Netherlands as obvious starting points, with Belgium playing a key role for regulatory work. “You always start with Germany,” he says. “It’s still the strongest economy in Europe.”

More than anything, he says the play is about consistency and focus. “The most important thing in building a business is deciding what you’re not going to do,” Levine says. “Just be the best you can be at what you are, and be proud of it.”

Listen to the full conversation with Simon Levine on The Non-Billable Podcast.