There
are
many
ways
to
enter
the
U.S.
legal
market.
You
can
merge.
You
can
poach.
You
can
lateral
raid
your
way
into
Biglaw
headlines.
Or…
you
can
open
an
office
in
Manhattan
and
repeatedly
clarify
that
you
absolutely,
positively
do
not
want
to
practice
U.S.
law.
Enter
London-based
Macfarlanes
—
a
firm
that
brought
in
$474,686,000
gross
revenue
in
2024,
putting
it
at
No.
18
on
the
UK
100
ranking
and
No.
139
on
the
Global
200
ranking
—
which
is
opening
a
New
York
outpost
on
April
1.
(Yes,
that’s
April
Fool’s
Day,
but
the
firm
swears
this
is
serious.)
The
office
will
be
located
at
667
Madison
Avenue
and
led
by
former
managing
partner
Julian
Howard.
It
will
house
a
team
in
the
“single
digits,”
which
in
Biglaw
expansion
terms
qualifies
as
more
“field
trip”
than
British
invasion.
The
firm
has
gone
out
of
its
way,
repeatedly,
to
emphasize
that
this
is
a
“representative
office.”
It
will
not
practice
U.S.
law.
It
will
not
merge.
It
will
not
disrupt.
It
will
not
steal
your
lunch.
The
American
Lawyer
has
additional
details:
The
firm’s
incoming
senior
partner,
Damien
Crossley,
emphasised
that
the
new
office
…
is
not
intended
as
a
step
towards
competing
with
its
relationship
firms,
such
as
Wachtell,
Lipton,
Rosen
&
Katz,
or
any
other
firm
in
its
“good
friends”
network.
…Crossley
believes
the
launch
will
“help
our
European
clients
navigate
the
U.S.”,
adding
that
the
office
is
not
intended
as
a
referral
office,
but
rather
will
serve
firm-originated
clients.
Crossley
went
on
to
put
it
quite
plainly:
“We
have
absolutely
zero
interest
in
merging.
We
have
absolutely
zero
interest
in
practicing
U.S.
law.
We
do
not
need
to
practise
U.S.
law
to
understand
what
U.S.
investors
want.”
So
what,
exactly,
is
the
point?
The
office
will
house
the
firm’s
investor
intelligence
team
—
part
of
its
“beyond
legal”
offering
—
with
a
focus
on
building
up
its
brand
in
the
U.S.,
and
strengthening
relationships
with
U.S.
investors
for
its
European
private
capital
and
private
wealth
clients.
“The
worst
thing
that
can
happen
to
a
law
firm
is
being
seen
as
irrelevant
in
a
world
of
global
elites,”
Crossley
said.
Crossley
described
Macfarlanes
as
“an
evolutionary
firm,
not
a
revolutionary
firm,”
which
is
a
charming
way
of
saying,
please
don’t
panic,
nothing
dramatic
is
happening,
we’re
simply
here
in
Manhattan.
To
be
honest,
there’s
something
refreshingly
restrained
about
the
firm’s
New
York
entry.
No
splashy
lateral
hires.
No
bold
declarations
of
“full-service
U.S.
capability.”
It’s
just
a
small
team,
a
Madison
Avenue
address,
and
a
quiet
insistence
that
they
can
understand
American
investors
without
becoming
American
lawyers.
In
a
legal
market
that
often
equates
expansion
with
conquest,
Macfarlanes
is
attempting
something
much
more
subtle:
presence
without
practice.
Whether
New
York
views
that
as
strategic
sophistication
or
polite
British
hedging
remains
to
be
seen.
Macfarlanes
Debuts
in
New
York
with
Private
Capital-Focused
Office
[American
Lawyer]
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to email her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
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