We don't want to be too provincial here at The Careerist. So let's take a look at the law firm scene in Europe:

• The French love Americans--well, at least American law firms. "Two-thirds of the top U.S. firms in France saw their revenues rise last year and, according to research by Juristes Associés, a total of 12 US firms made it into the country’s top 50 firms by turnover in 2009-10," reports The Lawyer. Skadden showed the biggest growth, reporting a 20 percent spike in revenues. Other big players are Latham & Watkins, followed by Baker & McKenzie.

• The U.K. must be bouncing back from the recession a lot faster than the U.S.--if the Magic Circle billing rates are any indication. "Magic circle partner rates have bounced back to levels not seen since before the recession," reports The Lawyer. The article says that "Magic Circle partners are again charging as much as £725 per hour." That means that Magic Circle partners are billing around $1,126.50 an hour. Whoa--that's like Marty Lipton rates.

• Another positive sign in the U.K. legal market: White & Case just promoted seven associates (mostly in banking and finance) to partnership in its London office, reports Legal Week. The firm promoted 35 associates overall, including 16 across the Europe, Middle East, and Africa, and nine in the Americas.

You might recall that White & Case's London office has had a rough go for a while, with the departure of a group of partners to Latham's London office. But with these seven promotions, it seems to be making a statement that it's staying put and building.

 Do you have topics you'd like to discuss or tips to share? E-mail The Careerist's chief blogger, Vivia Chen, at [email protected].