ABSTRACT
In the 1980s a wave of lawyerism swept over the centers of international trade and finance. Brussels, Rotterdam and Frankfurt saw law firms growing within a few years, just as did Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong. In the Netherlands an estimated ten percent of the bar organized into seven big law firms—none of which was very sizable prior to 1985. Looking at the European experience, the author's thesis that the market for legal services seems to be pushed from the supply side more than being pulled by demand has been confirmed already by the sudden speed with which new firms and mergers have swept over the profession. The British starting position was similar: solicitors had a wider range of business including conveyancing and thus open to new forms of activities. While international business lawyering forms a thin layer on top of largely conventional professions, the same might hold true for the managerial role which they play in European business firms.
