Linklaters

London-based Linklaters is a member of the vaunted Magic Circle. In some ways, it maintains a similar model to several other firms in that cohort: the firm’s £2 billion annual turnover, 27 international offices, and 100-strong trainee intake are all geared towards supporting large, multi-national clients across the whole range of practice areas. That said, the Linklaters’ approach remains distinct in at least two ways. First, Linklaters’ financial strength is more closely tied to big-ticket M&A work (as well as capital markets issuances) for long-standing corporate clients. Second, its international strategy has been more surgical than some of its Magic Circle counterparts - prioritising building specific differentiated practices, rather than pursuing growth at all costs. To expand more on the first aspect of Linklaters’ distinct approach, the firm is reliant on a ‘trusted advisor model.’ Rather than competing heavily for individual smaller or medium size mandates, Linklaters has poured its resources into cultivating long-term relationships with financial institutions and large public companies. In so doing, it has developed a reputation for being safe hands for handling the most complex work. The result is that when macroeconomic headwinds are positive enough to catalyse this high-value, complex work, Linklaters thrives. This approach is evident across both its corporate M&A and capital markets practices. Regarding corporate M&A, the numbers bear out the fact that Linklaters is dependent on advising on high-value, novel transactions for long-standing clients. For instance, in 2023 whilst their overall number of transactions advised on was barely in the top 20 among law firms in the UK, their overall deal value was well into the top five. In 2024, they were second only to Slaughter and May in terms of overall deal value. These prolific numbers are broadly for institutional clients which have been with the firm for decades. As an example, Linklaters works with 9 of the world’s 10 largest investment banks as well as 8 of the top 10 largest listed companies in the UK. The same is true regarding Linklaters’ stand-out capital markets team. The bulk of the fees in this space are generated from repeat work on issuances for financial institutions of the highest pedigree. Particularly important clients in this area include Bank of America and JP Morgan. The second distinguishing feature of the Linklaters’ business model has been a more surgical approach to international expansion. The thinking behind international expansion for law firms is generally fairly simple: by achieving global coverage, the firm becomes greater than the sum of its parts (and the cost of the investment to get there). True global coverage, it is thought, attracts multinational business otherwise inaccessible to a firm. This thinking has prompted some UK firms to expand as rapidly as possible (particularly in the US and Middle East) to achieve scale. A different strategy has prevailed at Linklaters. Rather than focusing on scale (the firm is still the smallest by US revenue of its Magic Circle peers) it has tried to construct a distinct and pointed reputation in markets it wants to enter. In New York, for instance, it has built on its London reputation as a big-ticket M&A adviser. In support of this goal, they have been aggressive with lateral acquisitions in this space specifically (including poaching George Casey and five other partners from Shearman & Sterling). The strategy seems to be bearing fruit, with Casey delivering on a $6.7 billion dollar Rio Tinto deal within his first 12-months. The firm’s recent US growth numbers also reflect a strategy beginning to pay off, with two straight years of at least 20% growth, without the level of lateral investment a more broad hiring strategy would entail. In terms of balancing a reputational niche with global expansion, Linklaters seems to have found its own approach.