WorldCity Business Magazine

(3) Special Report: Law - Long Arm of the Law

by WC

Seven of the nations Top 30 law firms have South Florida offices, and they are among the 19 multinational law firms WORLDCITY has identified as practicing in the three county area.

These 19 firms employ more than 1,100 attorneys in South Florida and oversee billings, or revenues, of more than $1.6 billion, though three quarters of that are from one firm. Seven of them are headquartered here. The average billing per attorney is slightly more than $500,000, according to WORLDCITY research. The firms are part of WORLDCITYs Whos Here database, more than 1,200 multinationals from almost five dozen nations with offices in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. They employ 180,000 workers here and oversee 525,000 worldwide, largely in Latin America and the Caribbean but also in Asia, Africa, Europe and the rest of North America.

This is the second in a series of industry profiles from that database. The first, on the aviation industry, was published in the April issue. Coming issues will feature such industries as media, logistics, technology and maritime.

The series of stories are part of WORLDCITYs second year of its ongoing research for its Global Economic Impact Study. In 2007, during the first year of research, WORLDCITY discovered that the multinationals in South Florida oversee more than $203 billion in annual revenues. That is based on revenue figures from about 60 percent of the companies, so the figure is clearly higher. Many of the multinationals here focus on Latin America. In the legal profession, that is less true and the term Latin America headquarters is less applicable. More than with most industries, geography is less important than what law firms call practice groups, or industry sectors. In part, that explains why relatively few of the nations Top 30 law firms by revenues, as ranked by
American Lawyer, have a South Florida presence. Another reason: As important as Latin America and the Caribbean are to South Florida, it is not generally the case around the country or world.

Latin America accounts for a relatively small percentage of revenues for most global companies, including the 1,200 in our database, most often in the range of 5 percent. Many of these larger firms are well established in Europe and are rushing into China and the rest of Asia.

Of those Top 30 firms in the United States, only five even have an office in Latin America or the Caribbean, and three of those five have only one office. The two exceptions are Baker & McKenzie, which has a dozen offices as well as affiliations in addition to its Miami office, and White & Case, which has three offices in Latin America as well as a Miami office.

That does not mean that the other firms arent active in Latin America or the Caribbean; only that the business is driven from elsewhere in the United States, such as New York or Chicago. Two Top 30 law firms, neither with a South Florida office, No.3 Jones Day and No. 29 Davis Polk, actually manage their Latin America practices from Europe.

Baker & McKenzie and White & Case are two of the seven law firms with Miami offices that make the Top 30 nationwide. Baker & McKenzie ranks No. 3; White & Case is No. 6. What also separates these two is that, among the Top 30, they stand apart with regard to true global presence. Baker & McKenzie has 70 offices worldwide, with 10 in North America, 30 offices in Europe plus an extensive network in Asia as well as Latin America.

White & Case has 37 offices with five in the United States. It is heavily geared toward Europe, the Middle East and Africa region with 23 offices in what is often referred to as the EMEA region.

Also among the Top 30 is No. 10 Greenberg Traurig, the only Top 30 law firm with headquarters in South Florida. Greenbergs $1.2 billion in revenues account for 75 percent of the total for all South Florida multinational law firms.

No. 12 Morgan Lewis, No. 16 McDermott Will and No. 23 Hogan & Hartson are the others on the list with a Miami office. Two other firms with a South Florida office that fall just outside American Lawyers Top 30 are No. 32 Holland & Knight and No. 41 Hunton & Williams.

Of the 19 multinational law firms in South Florida, seven are based here. Even these seven dont necessarily have offices in Latin America. Becker & Poliakoff, for example, which has 14 offices around the state and in New York and has an active Customs and trade practice, only has one outside the United States and it is in Prague, the Czech Republic.

Hughes Hubbard & Reed has international offices in Tokyo and Paris. Hunton & Williams is in Bangkok, Beijing, Brussels and London. A number of the dozen South Florida firms not in the Top 30 do have offices in Latin America, including Diaz Reus, which is in Bogota and Caracas as well as Hong Kong, Dubai and Frankfurt; Ferrell Law, which is in Buenos Aries; Fowler Rodriguez Valdes-Fauli, which is in Bogota; and Sandler Travis & Rosenberg, which is in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Mexico City.