After many years of hesitancy, the race to build truly ‘global elite’ law firm brands has entered the endgame. For years, many firms expanded internationally without fully committing to what it would take to lead. That period is ending. By the close of this decade, a small group will occupy structurally advantaged positions at the top of the profession: the Global Elite.

Four groups of firms sit in the frame. Each must pursue a different brand journey.

The encouraging news is that the future is not predetermined. Different groups of firms begin from different positions, but each has a viable strategic path. What matters now is focus, discipline and a willingness to make clearer choices about what the firm will be famous for globally.

Brand is central to this. Not as a cosmetic layer, but as strategy made visible. A coherent Big B Brand gives shape to ambition, guides investment and helps the partnership act with consistency across markets.

Four groups of firms sit in the frame. Each must pursue a different brand journey.

Handled well, these firms will continue to define the upper tier of Big Law.

1. The US Internationalists. Consolidating a commanding lead

The US Internationalists. The likes of Kirkland, Latham, Skadden and Gibson Dunn have moved from global followers to pacesetters. Their profitability is stretching away from the field, and their position in the most lucrative segments of the market has strengthened further.

Their strategic question is not whether they can become global elite brands. They are already on that trajectory. The issue now is durability –– how to reinforce their market leadership in a way that attracts the right talent and avoids cultural hurdles.

Brand priorities for the US Internationalists

• Reset the cultural narrative. These firms continue to carry an aura of intensity that can deter some recruits. They should treat this as a brand-and-culture design challenge –– demonstrating visible commitments to inclusive cultures and sustainable career paths, backed by evidence.
• Sharpen global sector leadership. Many already dominate private equity, disputes or particular industries. Codifying and branding these leadership positions worldwide strengthens distinctiveness and ensures the market understands what these firms are famous for.
• Humanise through symbols. Flagship ESG initiatives, talent programmes and influential role models can soften harder edges and build emotional resonance without diminishing performance.

Handled well, these firms will continue to define the upper tier of Big Law and remain the natural home for ambitious laterals seeking scale, momentum, and prestige.

Their challenge is focus. They cannot out-muscle the leading US firms across every field.

2. The Magic Circle. Building credibility in the US.

The Magic Circle firms succeeded in transforming themselves from national champions into international powerhouses. Yet the United States remains the defining gap. The US accounts for around half of global premium legal fees and is a massive source of profitability. Without a meaningful top-tier presence there, no firm can claim global elite status.

A&O Shearman has taken a bold step, completing its merger and beginning to build a more credible US platform. However, the profitability gap between the Magic Circle and the leading US firms continues to widen. Purely organic growth in the US is unlikely to close that divide.

Despite this, these firms possess enormous brand assets: deep home-market strength, global recognition and strong reputational equity. Their challenge is focus. They cannot out-muscle the leading US firms across every field, but they can out-manoeuvre them in carefully chosen areas.

Freshfields’ push to build a transatlantic leadership position in competition/antitrust law illustrates the point. Concentration, not breadth, is what gives a positioning teeth.

Brand priorities for the Magic Circle 

• Choose a small number of US-led spikes. Target one or two practices or sectors where the firm can plausibly aim for global top-tier status and build the brand narrative around them.
• Adopt a challenger stance in the US. In the US, these firms are outsiders. Their brand and go-to-market approach should embrace that position: bolder points of view, sharper value propositions and visibly differentiated expertise.
• Equip US partners with a positioning that wins. The firm-wide brand should answer, with specificity, the question “why us rather than the top US competitor”.
• Merge like no one is watching. If material combinations become possible, they should reinforce a clear brand strategy and, rather than holding out for a single elusive transformational merger, consider multiple combinations.

These firms have much to protect. But also, much to gain if they rediscover the boldness and distinctiveness that originally carried them beyond London.

They are, in effect, the BMW 5 Series of Big Law: engineered for real-world use.

3. The Globalists. Owning the clean, confident “premium business law platform”

The Globalists. Baker McKenzie, Dentons, DLA Piper, Norton Rose and peers were the original pioneers of international scale. They built global coverage before most rivals had even considered it. Their challenge today is not to prove that they are global, but to become clearer about the kind of global firm they intend to be.

For many general counsel, these firms already fulfil a vital role: broad coverage across jurisdictions, reliable quality, strong commerciality and a sensibly premium price point. They are, in effect, the BMW 5 Series of Big Law: engineered for real-world use, not for vanity or spectacle. And for most corporate legal needs, that is exactly what is required.

The opportunity is to embrace this position confidently, rather than half-competing with super-elite firms on their terms.

Brand priorities for the Globalists

• Name and own the model. Articulate a distinctive promise: consistent, business-relevant advice everywhere you need it, without the eye-watering premiums of the super-elite.
• Make global consistency the hero. The brand should demonstrate, not just assert, that clients receive a recognisably similar experience worldwide.
• Lead with commercial fluency. Emphasise industry knowledge, project management excellence and practical delivery over mystique.
• Use pricing as a signal of value. Premium, predictable pricing can be a differentiator if it aligns with the firm’s strategic identity.

If these firms let go of elite aspirations that do not fit their structure, they may find that long-term brand success is easier to secure in the space they are uniquely designed to serve.

Their issue is not scale. It is sharpness.

4. The Transatlanticists. Sector specialists in waiting

The Transatlanticists. Hogan Lovells, White & Case, Reed Smith, Mayer Brown, soon to be Ashurst Perkins Coie, and others are structurally better balanced than many rivals. They have credible platforms on both sides of the Atlantic and cultures that have not been drawn fully into the PEP arms race.

Their issue is not scale. It is sharpness. They are very good at many things, but not always unmistakably elite in some.

The Ashurst–Perkins Coie merger announcement offers an instructive model. By explicitly defining three global sectors—technology, finance and energy and infrastructure—as the combined firm’s strategic centre of gravity, it demonstrates the kind of focus required to compete at the top.

Brand priorities for the Transatlanticists

• Pick a small number of global lead sectors. Two or three industries where the firm can credibly build elite, cross-Atlantic strength.
• Integrate truly global sector teams. Organise the firm around unified platforms that connect key hubs rather than parallel regional practices.
• Tell a powerful story to laterals and partners. A sharp sector identity makes the firm more attractive to high-quality recruits and future merger candidates.
• Invest visibly in flagship strengths. Thought leadership, targeted laterals, and landmark matters should reinforce the chosen areas of distinction.

These firms have the structural balance many competitors lack. Focus can turn that balance into genuine brand power.

Each group now has strategic and brand actions available.

Choosing your game now

Across the profession, the direction of travel is becoming clearer. The US Internationalists are widening their lead. The Magic Circle and Transatlanticists face strategic crossroads. The Globalists have a distinctive model waiting to be claimed.

Each group now has strategic and brand actions available that are not dependent on elusive merger partners, even though they are needed in some cases.

By 2030, the firms that make disciplined strategic choices—and build Big B Brands that reinforce those choices globally—will hold the strongest positions. The task for leadership teams is simple but not easy: decide which game they want to win and shape their strategy and brand to make that choice real.