The following is excerpted from Tim Powers’ September article in The Times of London:
This much is certain about Brexit — London is still central to the world’s financial markets.
We believed as much a year ago, when my firm opened in London through a merger announced a week after Britain voted to leave the EU.
And I recently returned from a visit to our London office, during which we toasted the anniversary of that deal. Looking back on the year, which included a change in governments, many predictions on the impact of Brexit and multiple terrorist attacks, I was struck by the resiliency of London’s business and legal community and its unwavering commitment to the rule of law.
The business case for being in London remains as strong as ever. English law continues to reign supreme as the governing law in cross-border transactions and disputes. . . .
A London office opens many business doors that might otherwise be closed to US law firms. Earlier this year, we submitted a bid to handle a significant liquefied natural gas project on behalf of a foreign government, an opportunity that one of our former Houston-based partners learnt about only because he had moved to our London office. Indeed, without a London office our firm would not have been considered for the work. . . .
We are even more convinced today that we made the right decision to enter the London market. That is why we have hired five new London partners over the past year and launched a new corporate practice there.
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