Considering the US cannabis market is expected to have grown from USDUS6.7 billion in 2016 to a whopping $21 billion by 2021 according to figures from Arcview; the Grandview research group are even more bullish, expecting the global medical marijuana market to reach a value of USD 55.8 billion by 2025.
Yet none of the biggest firms by revenue , as yet, seem to place any value in the sector. Or, if they do, they certainly are not talking publicly about it.
We have selected the top 5 firms by revenue as a simple test group.
Our figures have been sourced from Wikipedia and although their revenue data is over 16 months old, we believe the firms listed, are still, essentially the world’s largest give or take a placing or two and this is enough to tell a story that somewhat beggars belief.
First, let’s get an idea of they type of law firms we are talking about.
Wikipedia write:
The combined revenue of the world’s top 200 law firms exceeded $100bn in 2015. The list includes 144 US, 31 UK, 9 Asian, 7 Canadian and 9 European firms, which collectively brought in $127bn in 2014.[1]
The average firm produces revenue of some $550m in revenue and employs 830 lawyers, including 314 partners. Average revenue per partner is $1.77m.
Collectively, the top 200 global firms have offices in 573 cities in 94 countries around the world. The US is, naturally,by far the largest jurisdiction for these firms, employing a total of 40,376 partners, or 64.2 per cent of partnerships in The Lawyer Global 200 ranking. The UK is second, with 6,929 partners, while Canada comes third with 2,252 partners.[1]
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_law_firms_by_revenue
These are the top 5 as listed by Wikipedia.
We searched each firm’s global website high and low for any reference containing the following two words and then narrowed our search to the USA.
- Cannabis
- Hemp
We not only searched for lawyers but also publications that may have been penned by individuals lower down the pecking order.
Here are our results and we hasten to add the 3 lawyers we found weren’t exactly shouting from the rooftops about handling cannabis or hemp matters.
Here are the top 5 firms in from 1-5.
USA Practitioners In Cannabis or Hemp: 0
Publications: 0
USA Practitioners In Cannabis or Hemp: 0
Publications: 0
USA Practitioners In Cannabis or Hemp: 1
Publications: 4
NB: 6 Practitioners outside the US. Most in Canada.
USA Practitioner Cannabis: Cedric Chao
US Head, International Arbitration Practice San Francisco
USA Practitioners In Cannabis or Hemp: 1
Publications: 0
USA Practitioner: Nancy A. Lieberman
Of Counsel, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity Transactions, Corporate Governance Matters and Corporate Restructurings. New York
USA Practitioners In Cannabis or Hemp: 1
Publications: 0
USA Practitioner: Stephen R. Patton – Of Counsel . Chicago
Anecdotal evidence is showing us that the further down the revenue table one goes the more likely we will find attorneys practicing in the sector. As we do more research we hope to bring this to light with some fact checking and attorney identification.
Part 2 to follow
