Baker McKenzie Top-Ranked Global Law Firm Brand for Ninth Year

Baker McKenzie has the best global law firm brand, beating out rivals for the ninth-straight year.

Even though Baker McKenzie is not the highest-earning firm, it still has the best branding around, according to a new survey.

The firm captured the top spot based on responses from some 1,600 people who are senior buyers of legal services at major companies.

Acritas, a legal market research company, asked them to select firms they viewed favorably, who are the best known and those they would be likely to use for cross-border deals and disputes.

Clifford Chance came in second place and DLA Piper was third. The fastest growing brand was Eversheds Sutherland, which tied for No. 12 with Herbert Smith Freehills and Skadden Arps.

Baker McKenzie’s winning move was to establish itself early and quickly in some international market practices, said Lisa Hart Shepherd, chief executive of Acritas. That set them up for future success.

“As multinational clients prepare for Brexit, they are increasingly turning to firms who have credible coverage across mainland Europe,” she said.

Baker McKenzie global chair Paul Rawlinson attributed the firm’s brand success to “a new type of thinking and a different mindset.”

“It requires lawyers who collaborate well across borders, markets and industries around the globe,” he said. Also, it requires “lawyers who embrace new ideas and emerging technologies to give businesses confidence in these uncertain times.”

While Baker McKenzie is still No. 1, Shepherd said other firms that have “strong, established brands” in continental Europe are moving up the rankings. Those include Linklaters, now No. 5, up three places from last year.

Law firms appear to have a better chance to earn a spot in the rankings when they have taken part in transatlantic combinations with other firms, the survey found.

“When we look at both the newcomers to the (brand) index and those who have risen significantly up the ranks, since we first published the index nine years ago, there has almost always been a transatlantic merger involved,” Shepherd said.

She named Norton Rose Fulbright, Dentons and Eversheds Sutherland as prime examples. Eversheds merged two years ago with Atlanta’s Sutherland law firm, and rose from 20^th place to 12^th place this year.

It was edged out by Latham & Watkins, one of the world’s highest earning firms, which was in 11^th place based on its strong financial practice. Another major firm, Jones Day, was tied for No. 6 in the global rankings, a decline of two places from 2017.

Only one new firm made this year’s top list—Bird & Bird, a technology-centric firm which got its start in intellectual property. It tied for No. 20 with K&L Gates and ReedSmith.