Global behemoths beat London aristocrats
A high-end market research company which does an annual ranking of the best law firm brands has placed size above pedigree in its latest league table.
Topping Acritas’ ‘2015 Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index’ are huge global duo Baker & McKenzie and DLA Piper, whose vast array of offices spanning basically everywhere make them very well known — if not always rated in the elite bracket for everything they do.
They sit just ahead of Clifford Chance, which comes in at third, befitting its status as a hybrid of global mega firm and London corporate finance aristocrat.
Fellow magic circle outfits Freshfields, Linklaters and Allen & Overy are located in the list at, respectively, seventh, eighth and ninth place. The fifth member of the supposedly magical quintet, Slaughter and May, is nowhere to be seen.
Other firms to rank highly include Norton Rose Fulbright (fourth), Hogan Lovells (fifth), Jones Day (sixth) and White & Case (10th).
Bakers has now topped Acritas’ list for six years running. Elsewhere in the rankings there has been more movement, with CC and DLA swapping places this year, and Hogan Lovells and Jones Day vaulting Links and Freshies.
The full ‘2015 Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index’:
