Click here to post your comments (anonymously) and help build an insider's profile of this Chicago firm, using the categories listed below as a guideline.
Overview
Early posters point to significant turbulence at McDermott's City arm - a situation underlined by the departure of office founder William Charnley in September 2007.
"By the end of 2001, [McDermott] was touting itself as the coming London firm, with over 20 partners and William Charnley at its head," remembers one poster. "Five years on, more than 75% of those partners are no longer there, including Charnley himself. The reason is a case study for any non-UK firm wishing to open in London. Have realistic expectations. Open to meet a business need, as simply opening an office does not create that need (or make a domestic firm an international firm). Do not micro-manage in the style of the home ofice without modification to meet local conditions."
Another observes: "The partner attrition rate in this firm since it opened its doors in London in December 1998 must be one of the highest in the City and it's had a knock-on effect on associates too. Over that time the US leadership has, one might hope, had to learn some valuable lessons on managing cultural difference and their own naive expectations. The only beneficiaries of this level of staff turnover have been the recruitment consultants and those in the wider [McDermott] UK diaspora who have learnt some bitter lessons on how not to manage a law firm."
"Is there anyone left at the London office?" asks a third contributor. You get the idea.
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