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Our view...
Linklaters is generally
regarded as the most blue chip firm in the City. Its corporate
department is probably the best there is - it's certainly one of the
busiest, with the London corporate team bringing in £160m over
2005/2006. And whilst it's traditionally seen as slightly below Allen
& Overy and Clifford Chance in finance, a 24% rise in turnover for
the firm's global finance practice shows that it's making huge
strides.
It acts for all the
sorts of clients you would expect on
all the sorts of transactions you would expect. Dealsover the
last few months include acquisitions for Hermes Private Equity, the
public to private bid for Cafe Nero, and acting for a consortium of
banks - Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley,
UBS and longstanding client Goldman Sachs - on a bid to set up a rival
to the London Stock Exchange.
It may be a boom market,
but Linklaters' performance has been quite extraordinary. Profits per
equity partner now run to £1.06m, a 26% increase on the previous
year. Outside of Slaughter and May it is now the most profitable firm
in the City, forcing traditional rivals Freshfields to embark on a
massive de-equitisation programme in a bid to stay competitive.
Linklaters has traditionally been ahead of its competitors in upping
associate salaries - it was the first to break the £50k mark for NQs,
a figure that now stands at £55,100. A&O convincingly trumped
this in October 2006, but it can only be a matter of time before
Linklaters follows suit.
The firm has also resolved
the few niggling concerns over its international alliance. It's sorted in
Eastern Europe and outstanding in Asia, Western Europe is back on
track after a few problematic years in Germany (it's one of the few
City firms to be maintaining a Berlin office) and New York has grown
by 300% in just three years.
Linklaters has always
been seen by outsiders as rather pleased with itself, and its staff
likewise. However, assistants claim that "it's not as smug as
you'd expect", "wankily self-assured trainees straight
out of Oxbridge soon cool their jets" and lawyers are friendly, with
personalities and generally lacking in arrogance". And if there
is some arrogance it may be
understandable - the reputation is second to none and the firm
contains some of the brightest lawyers in the City. Linklaters has
standards, and it expects its lawyers to adhere rigidly to them at all
times. This applies equally to its lawyers of the future - students
studying the LPC receive regular visits from the HR team, and must be
prepared to explain any poor grades.
Other advantages are
the money (salaries can be supplemented by hefty bonuses if associates
are beasted on the hours), the ability to work on the biggest deals around,
"excellent office accommodation and fringe benefits" and a
"very high percentage of Australian lawyers which makes the
atmosphere pretty relaxed". You get blackberrys with free calls under
£1, the canteen is cheap and the food reasonable, it is generous with its language
lessons and overall "it is a very efficient, slick
operation."
On the downside, whilst
one assistant says that
there is "loads of paralegal and secretarial support, which means
that very late nights/ all-nighters are really only for patsies who
can't sort their lives out" far more complain of a crippling
workload. Complaints include "unrealistic billing targets to get bonuses",
and that the firm "tries to run itself like an investment bank (hours/bonus structure etc.) but without paying like
one". One assistant points
out that "partners are more interested in billing than
staff", and the firm's certainly more interested in billing than
pro bono - in 2006 Linklaters pulled trainees who had been seconded to
charities back to the City to work on deals.
Ultimately these sorts of profits don't come with easy hours.
However good the support may be, this is not the firm to join if
you're particularly keen on seeing your home in daylight. But partners
get praise for recognising the long hours put in by their teams, and
one trainee comments that it's "firm but fair".
The hours are tough,
but this should not detract from
the fact that Linklaters is still one of the best firms in the world,
and offers all the advantages that go with its status. As one
assistant summarises, "all round good. Happy camper". And
there are liquorice allsorts and dolly mixtures in the meeting
rooms...
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