US law firms jostle for highest-stakes London disputes
US law firms are securing some of the biggest legal disputes in London and positioning themselves at the top of the litigation food chain, according to a new report from consultancy Solomonic.
Over 100 US legal outfits have “evidently established themselves as a go-to choice for the most complex, highest-value and most trial-intensive disputes in London”, with a few top firms taking on a large number of claims.
Over the past decade, American law firms’ strategy in the City has been driven by “aggressive lateral hiring, eye-watering pay and rapid office growth”, all of which “have signalled a sustained and deliberate investment into London litigation.”
American firms are also shunning smaller legal disputes to focus exclusively on the largest, highest stakes lawsuits, cherry picking the most expensive cases.
According to the report, while only 4 per cent of all disputes in the UK over the past six years involved legal groups in the US, the average value of a dispute weighs in at £10m, thirteen times higher than the overall value of UK litigation of £740,000.
US firms “have not sought to compete across the full breadth of English litigation – they have targeted the most financially and strategically significant disputes,” the consultancy said.
“While US firms may still represent a relatively small proportion of the overall litigation market, they are increasingly concentrated in the complex disputes that matter most financially,” the report said.
According to the report, the most active US firms in high-stakes City litigation between 2020 and 2025 were Cleary Gotlieb, Quinn Emanuel, Reed Smith, Jones Day, and Morgan Lewis, which were involved with over 100 claims each over that period.
Top US firms Baker McKenzie and Scott & Scott follow closely behind, both filing 99 claims in the City over the past six years.
‘Aggressive’ litigators
Almost one in five, or roughly 20 per cent, of all high-value commercial claims brought in London’s Commercial Court between 2023 and 2025 involved at least one US-headquartered law firm.
Alongside this, of all the claims involving American firms in UK litigation, 21 per cent reach a trial, compared to an average of only 9 per cent of cases led by those based in the UK, which are more likely to opt for settling disputes instead.
Solomonic said this is “the most striking difference” between US firms and those in the UK, which are “significantly more likely to take claims all the way to trial”, with American lawyers known to be belligerent litigators.
“US firms are perceived as more aggressive litigators, particularly given their reputation in the US market and their growing involvement in funded disputes, class actions and competition claims,” the consultancy said.
Practices across the pond are also leading hiring in the City, driven by a focus on building out private capital teams.
According to figures by legal recruiter Edwards Gibson, law firms in London hired 668 partners over the year, a 21 per cent increase on data from the previous year, with the US dominating the hiring uptick.