Lovells chief supports UK firms’ export record

Lovells senior partner John Young has come out in support of UK law firms' success at exporting English law after recent claims by the former Chief Justice Lord Woolf that the credit crunch had damaged Anglo-Saxon firms.

In an interview with the Financial Times last week Woolf commented: "I think [people] are talking about a general sense of malaise with western standards. That goes into the common law legal system, because it's very much part of what we have been promoting in China, Japan and Russia."

Woolf argued that the credit crisis has "dealt a blow" to London firms' efforts to expand internationally, particularly in leading emerging economies.

The popularity of English law globally is often seen as one of the major advantages for UK firms operating abroad.

Young, in a letter to the same newspaper published today (2 June), argues that "experience on the ground so far indicates the contrary", stating that UK firms' businesses have increasingly expanded beyond common law to offer genuine local coverage.

Young writes: "What ... differentiates [UK law firms] from purely domestic firms is the easy access they provide to cross-border expertise and, in many cases, a greater perceived sophistication in client service."

He goes on to state that Lovells' fee income has risen by 30% annually across its operations in Asia and the Middle East and cites client demand for the firm's recent office launch in Hanoi.

Financial results for the 2008-09 year recently released by Lovells show that its international offices have driven its recent growth with the firm now achieving nearly 60% of its revenue from foreign offices.

Young ends the letter by stating: "The credit crisis does indeed pose challenges for law firms like any other business but a crisis in confidence in the common law does not yet appear to be one of them."