According to London firms dominate global legal market (TimesOnLine):

"City law firms are reaping record profits that confirm London’s dominance of the global legal market, according to research published today."

HOWEVER, the article goes on to say:

"But it is not all doom and gloom on Wall Street. The revenue per lawyer (RPL) figures of US law firms far outstrip those of UK firms."

"The 15 firms that perform best in the Legal Business research all have RPL figures that top the $850,000 mark. Slaughter and May is the only UK firm that makes the cut, with revenue per lawyer topping $939,000. New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell leads the field with each of its lawyers billing $1.45 million each year."

*If the article is correct, what conclusions do you draw from the fact that UK firms are more profitable but revenues per lawyer are higher in the USA?  It might, in part, be costs but more likely "how money is distributed generally to the lawyers in the firm".  INTERESTING!!

(*See article for details of nature of firms compared)