The Legal Cheek View
From humble beginnings in 1885 as a US transportation specialist, King & Spalding has done little else other than expand and grow. Now totalling 24 offices across the US, Europe, Japan, Singapore, and the Middle East, the emerging giant shows no signs of slowing down soon, and has the financials to back it up. This year, the firm has boosted its revenue by 6% to $2.14 billion (£1.68 billion), it also posted an impressive profit per equity partner (PEP) figure of $5.3 million (£4.16 million) – a healthy 13% increase on the previous financial year.
Not to be outdone by the 23 other hubs, the London office have been pulling their weight over recent years. The firm is making significant strides in its growth, having recruited several partners from rival firms such as Morrison Foerster, Jones Day, Paul Hastings, Dickson Minto, and Reed Smith. More recently, the firm strengthened its funds expertise by poaching a four-partner finance team from Cadwalader, along with former Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Max Hill KC.
As for the work itself – in line with their expansive approach – King & Spalding offer global support for a range of matters. The firm’s work is broadly divided into four categories: corporate, finance and investments, government matters, trial and global disputes, and industries/issues. Within these fields the London office is recognised for its banking and finance, and corporate/M&A work, along with its focus on energy and natural resources and both public international law and international arbitration.
During their training rookies are exposed to the whole range of the firm’s business. This includes, but is certainly not limited to; banking, disputes, energy and projects, finance, international arbitration, international trade, Islamic finance, M&A, real estate, and tax. In order to cover all of this work with such a streamlined crew, new associates are expected to hit 1,800 hours over the calendar year — not an easy task, but by no means the highest standard set by a US firm in the City. The reward just might, however, make the hours worth it. For the lucky rookies who secure a training contract, the starting salary is £55,000, rising to £65,000 in year two, before jumping to a whopping £165,000 upon qualification. When you throw in the £17,000 SQE support, and an additional £17,000 to fund the conversion course, things are looking pretty good – financially, anyway! All of that is without even mentioning the swanky office situated at 8 Bishopsgate, right next door to the Gherkin and the Walkie-Talkie.
And then there’s the impressive clientele list, which includes the likes of Mitsubishi, Western Union, Deutsche bank, the governments of Mongolia and Turkey, Shell, EDF, Total, MasterCard, and Air Canada. More recently, the firm advised UPS on a billion-dollar sale of its Coyote Logistics business unit and secured a win for TikTok in California. The firm also has pro bono as a priority – one recent highlight saw the firm secure a win for LGBTQ+ veterans against the US Department of Defense. Previously, K&S have also represented the case of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko’s murder before the European Court of Human Rights, successfully obtaining a judgment that the Russian state was responsible for the killing. This is alongside numerous cases in the US concerning the death penalty, human trafficking, asylees, and, more recently, transgender law and practices.
This pro bono and community focussed approach is bolstered by the firms over 100 non-profit partner organisations. Much alike the client list, here you can find all of the big names in the charitable sphere. The Red Cross, UNICEF, and various UN entities make the list, as do Human Rights Watch, Feeding America, and an eccentric number of legal aid, justice, innocence, and civil rights and liberties organisations. For those looking for a big pay packet, hard but interesting work, and the chance to give back to the community nationally and internationally, this is certainly not a firm to be missed!