If you use multiple offices of a law firm, you have a stronger relationship

An indicator of your law department’s attachment to a law firm is the number of offices of a firm that you work with. According to Baker & McKenzie, it pulled in $2.1 billion in 2010, “half of it from clients that use the firm in ten or more places.” This quote from the Economist, May 7, 2011, at 75, shows the degree of enmeshment between the firm and many of its clients: they rely on it for international legal advice from multiple locations.

I have suggested that a metric for loyalty and reliance is the number of a law firm’s partners used during a year, but the number of offices used offers a different spin (See my post of Aug. 17, 2010: don’t think firm, think number of partners or practice groups.). Multi-office and multi-partner dealings speak to a widespread network of respect and reliance.