User:Atcpasco/sandbox

Linklaters LLP is a multinational law firm headquartered in London. Founded in 1838, it is a member of the "Magic Circle" of elite British law firms. It currently employs over 2,000 lawyers across 29 offices in 20 countries.

In 2016, Linklaters achieved revenues of £1.31 billion ($1.97 billion) and profits per equity partner of £1.45 million ($2.2 million). In the UK, the firm has top-tier rankings across many practice areas, including corporate/M&A, capital markets, litigation, banking and finance, restructuring and insolvency, antitrust and tax. In 2017, Linklaters was ranked third, tied with Eversheds Sutherland, for FTSE 100 clients. For direct deals by institutional investors in the first half of 2016, Linklaters tied for first place. In the 2012 Global Elite Brand Index, Linklaters was named the third-strongest global law firm brand.

History
Linklaters was founded in London in 1838 when John Linklater entered into a partnership with Julius Dods. The firm, initially known as Dods & Linklater, developed a practice in corporate law, including advising on the creation of the Metropolitan Water Board. On 4 May 1920, the firm, then known as Linklater & Co, merged with another renowned London firm, Paines Plythe & Huxtable, which had been founded by a descendant of Thomas Paine.

For most of the twentieth century, Linklaters & Paines was predominately a domestic corporate law firm, with only a small number of overseas offices. However, in 1998, Linklaters & Alliance was created in partnership with many of Europe's leading law firms, including De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in Amsterdam, De Bandt van Hecke Lagae in Brussels, Loesch & Wolter in Luxembourg, Lagerlöf & Leman in Stockholm and Oppenhoff & Rädler in Germany. Over the next five years, Linklaters & Paines merged with the last four of these Alliance firms, as well as several other European firms, in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic and Poland. The firm opened new offices in Amsterdam, Bangkok, Beijing, Budapest, Bucharest, Bratislava, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Rome, São Paulo, and Shanghai. In 1999, amid this global expansion, the firm shortened its name to Linklaters.

On 1 April 2005, after Japan enacted laws to allow certain international law firms to open offices in the country, Linklaters created Japan’s first fully merged law firm practising Japanese, English and US law. Linklaters spun off its offices in Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest and Prague into a separate firm, Kinstellar (an anagram of Linklaters) in 2007. In the aftermath of the credit crunch in 2008, Linklaters cut 270 jobs in London, consisting of around 120 lawyers and 150 other staff. This was reported to be part of managing partner Simon Davies' plan to become a smaller, more profitable organisation.

On 1 May 2012, Linklaters entered into an alliance with top-tier Australian law firm Allens. Allens and Linklaters operate two joint ventures in Asia: one focused on energy, resources and infrastructure services, and another on Indonesia in collaboration with domestic firm Widyawan & Partners. On 1 February 2013, the firm entered into an alliance with leading South African law firm Webber Wentzel. The company is very active in China. Linklaters also has a best-friend arrangement with Talwar Thakore & Associates, a leading Indian law firm.

Linklaters' Paris practice, which consists of 30 partners, in November 2017 lost several partners including partner David Swinburne to the firm Jones Day. Earlier that year, the Paris office also lost Kiril Bougartchev and Emmanuel Moyne, who spun off to form their own firm. The firm then hired Tom Alabaster from Latham & Watkins in October 2017. Then it hired a team from Mayer Brown in October 2017.

Offices
Linklaters was founded and remains headquartered in London. As of 2017, the firm has 29 offices across 20 countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, North America, South America and Europe.