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Some city law firms focus on mergers, acquisitions and corporate work, others are known for their work on behalf of banks and some are niche specialists. Then there’s Linklaters which, to coin a phrase, does the lot.
Its ambition to become the world’s favourite law firm informed the aggressive international expansion of the 1990s and then-managing-partner Tony Angel’s untrammelled efficiency drive. Today it has 19 practices in 26 global offices and £1.2bn turnover, second only to Clifford Chance.
Corporate is still the jewel in Linklaters’ crown, with turnover falling by just 1 per cent despite market slowdown.
Nobody would argue that Linklaters is a behemoth of commercial law. But mention that it was instructed by more FTSE100 and FTSE 250 clients than any other firm last year and that could raise some eyebrows. It was also involved in the Lehman Brothers administration, deploying 600 of its lawyers to the offices of the foundering financial services firm.
Other notable clients include:
Nobody would argue that Linklaters is a behemoth of commercial law. But mention that it was instructed by more FTSE100 and FTSE 250 clients than any other firm last year and that could raise some eyebrows.
The Legal 500 puts the firm in tier one for: Corporate tax; Equity capital markets: UK capability; Equity capital markets: US capability; Financial services; M&A: upper and mid-market and premium deals; Fraud: civil and regulatory investigations; Banking litigation: investment and retail; Acquisition finance;
We are still listing the first tier. Please hold:
Corporate restructuring and insolvency; Debt capital markets; Derivatives and structured products; Emerging markets; Investment funds; Securitisation; Employee share schemes; Pensions; Insurance: corporate and regulatory; Infrastructure;
Nearly there, promise:
Mining and minerals; Oil and gas; Power (including electricity, nuclear and renewables); Private finance initiative (PFI); Water; Commercial property; Environment; Property finance; Rail.
Linklaters is ranked as second tier for: EU and competition; M&A: US law capability; VAT and indirect tax; Fraud: corporate crime; Commercial litigation; Tax litigation; Asset finance and leasing; Islamic finance; Trade finance; Property litigation; IT and telecoms; Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
Corporate is still the jewel in Linklaters’ crown, with turnover falling by 1 per cent despite market slowdown. Other practices, while not quite nipping at corporate’s heels, are certainly sharpening their teeth - the litigation team made 11 per cent of the firm’s fees in 2010.
Linklaters is continuing a steady expansion into the emerging markets of Russia, China and India, and has set up a projects practice in Brazil. Another short-term goal is to strengthen the firm’s US arm.
Trainee salary package
£37,400 per annum.
Salary on qualification
£61,500 per annum.
Tony Angel is credited with creating the modern law firm. Between 2004 and 2007 he achieved a 57% increase in turnover and a 108% increase in profits, largely through a widely reported management leadership programme that sent staff packing if they didn’t make the grade.
Performance-measurement is still a feature of life at Linklaters, which could be why associates are said to regularly ignore the target hours of 1700 to put in 2000 plus. Equally, they could be chasing the juicy bonuses on offer to top performers. Either way, the culture at Linklaters is the epitome of ‘live to work’ albeit with a caveat of ‘have fun while you’re doing it’.
The twin towers of Linklaters’ offices earned it this under-the-breath nickname. The comparison ends with the towers however, as in The Lord of The Rings there is no mention of Sauron bothering to install sleep-pods, a physiotherapist’s, doctor’s, dentist, gym, changing rooms, beauticians, occupational health centre, multi-faith room and a subsidised restaurant and coffee shop.
In The Lord of The Rings there is no mention of Sauron bothering to install sleep-pods, a doctor’s, gym, beauticians and a multi-faith room.
Take note: Linklaters has created a citadel and its purpose is to make life easier for lawyers at the beck and call of some very important and demanding clients. What kind of person is willing to make a commitment to such a work-live-breath-the-air-of-the-firm-until 10pm-if-needs-be ethos? Linklaters’ lawyers are characterised by their intellect, team ethic and drive.
There is also tangible sense of loyalty to the firm which is expressed to some extent by the lack of social life in the week. Free drinks trolleys do the rounds on a Friday afternoon and everyone stops for an hour for some non-work related chat. There is also a decent summer ball and a bewildering number of sports societies devoted to everything from adventure racing to golf.
Linklaters isn’t short on resources, both fiscal and human, and is decent enough to plough a considerable amount of these back into the community. The firm’s lawyers have worked free-of-charge on behalf of:
In 2010 the firm’s ‘Linking Work with Learning’ programme set a long-term goal of raising £1m to invest in schools in the London Borough of Hackney. This year they’ve expanded to include three other causes: ‘Lawyers in Schools’ in Hackney, ‘Projeto Alavanca’ in São Paulo and ‘Project Lend a Hand’ in Singapore, all of which provide for promising students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Linklaters also partners with the Campaign for Female Education to help educate and empower young women in rural Africa.
All of the following statistics apply to the UK:
The London Diversity Working Group (LDWG) implements the firm’s diversity strategy and encourages people to establish or join staff networks which, to date, include:
Linklaters works with a range of companies, programmes and schemes to give more students access to a law career:
Linklaters set up an Australian clerkship and Indian internship to attract the best law students from those countries.
The four-week Australian clerkship is open to penultimate-year law students and takes place in London during the winter.
The Indian internship also lasts four weeks and is open to penultimate-year Indian law students but takes place in the summer.
Both the Indian and Australian cohorts are joined by UK hopefuls in the second half of their sojourn, giving them a good opportunity to build bridges with potential future colleagues. Attendees are automatically afforded a partner interview at the end of the placement and, if successful, can return to their formal studies with a training contract in their pockets.
Our partners see themselves as guardians of the Linklaters’ brand. They see it as their job to bring the people up through the firm that will ultimately replace them. We don’t make anything, all we’ve got is our people and trainees are the future pipeline of partners. This makes for a really collegiate atmosphere.
Linklaters is very much a meritocracy. There are no favourites here. It’s not that you get assigned to one partner and work solely with them as can be the case in some firms. We believe that everyone should pull together, so it won’t just be junior people putting in long hours on a deal, the partners will be there working away with everyone else.
Faye Wimpenny, Linklaters graduate recruitment manager.
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