Legal Business quotes Edwards Gibson director in article: ‘The last of the big beasts – what next for WilmerHale London after Gary Born’s exit?’

Edwards Gibson is pleased that Director, Scott Gibson, has been quoted in Legal Business article. ‘The last of the big beasts – what next for WilmerHale London after Gary Born’s exit?’, written by Tom Cox which explores the market impact of international arbitration veteran Gary Born’s move to King & Spalding and the potential challenges this creates for WilmerHale’s London office.

The article examines Gary Born, who is widely regarded as a leading figure in international arbitration, and his legacy. Over four decades at WilmerHale and its predecessor firms, Born has built his reputation as “one of the last big characters” in his practice.

The piece goes onto assess the significance of the move as Born departs with a five-partner team in London and two partners in Washington DC. The exits come at a critical time for WilmerHale’s London office, which has already seen recent senior retirements and remains the smallest Global London office by partner count.

While there have been varying market opinions, Scott Gibson notes: “[t]he departures are a major blow for WilmerHale in London, which many have long perceived as The Gary Born Show”, highlighting how the firm’s disputes practice was centred around a single leading individual and how the departures now pose a serious challenge to the practice.

As such, the article considers the risks of heavily relying on key figures and the importance of succession planning. Drawing on Edwards Gibson’s market-leading data, it highlights WilmerHale has only made seven partner hires in London since 2007, Scott observing that concentrating the London office into “relatively marrow areas” has left it vulnerable to situations such as this. He therefore notes that “in many respects, it is a case study in why law firms need to grow.”

Read the full Legal Business article (paywall) here.