📩 Linklaters: A Brief History

Hey there,

I’ve just finished my assessments, and I must admit, they really took a toll on me. If you still have assessments coming up, good luck—you’ve got this!

When we’re not stressing over assessments, we’re stressing over applications. I’ve always found it odd that most application deadlines align with university exam periods. Surely firms are aware of this. But anyway, managing-competing-priorities has become my middle name.

Speaking of priorities, we’re officially resuming today ⭐️.

There is much to do in 2025:

1. The ‘A Brief History Of’ section is here to stay for a while. This is subject to your positive feedback, of course. On average, these take around 14 hours to make.

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Linklaters: A Brief History Of

1838 → John Linklater (21) qualifies and joins Julius Dods as a partner, forming Dods & Linklater. No other person in the firm’s history has been made a partner immediately on qualification.

1843 → John’s brother, James, becomes a partner. Firm renamed Dods & Linklaters.

1845 → Dods leaves. Firm becomes J. & J.H. Linklater.

1855 → J. & J.H. Linklater & Hackwood.

1865 → JJ. & J.H. Linklater, Hackwood & Addison.

1870 → Linklater, Hackwood, Addison & Brown.

1879 → The last Linklater leaves the firm.

1895 → Linklater, Addison, Brown & Jones.

1907 → Jones departs. Firm rebrands as Linklater & Co.

1918 → Linklater & Co merges with Surtees, Philpotts & Co.

1920 → Merges with Paines, Blythe & Huxtable, becoming Linklater & Paines.

1962 → Opens office in Milan.

1972 → Opens office in New York.

1973 → Opens offices in Brussels and Paris.

1995 → Relocates London office to One Silk Street.

1998 → Forms Linklaters & Alliance with leading European firms.

2002 → Merges with multiple firms, rebranding as Linklaters.

2004 → ’Clear blue water’ strategy halved partners, boosting profitability by 25% in a year.

2005 → Merges with Yasuda and Wani, becoming Japan’s first fully merged law firm.

2008 → Becomes the largest law firm by revenue.

2012 → Forms integrated alliance with Allens

2013 → Forms alliance with Webber Wentzel.

2024 → 31 Offices and Counting

19 January 1983— Apple announced the first personal computer with a graphical user interface and a computer mouse. This marked a turning point in how technology was used and eventually led to change in legislation, including copyright and digital rights.

20 January 1265 — England’s First Parliament holds a meeting at Westminster Hall in London.

21 January 1976 — The first commercial Concorde flight.

22 January 1972 — The Brussels Treaty of Accession was signed, paving the way for the UK to accede to the EU on 1.1.1973

23 January 1899 — Lord Denning was born. He developed the doctrine of Promissory Estoppel and other famous judgements.

24 January 2006 — Disney announced the purchase of Pixar Animation Studios. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom represented Disney in the all-stock deal with Pixar.

25 January 1533 — Henry VIII married his 2nd wife, Anne Boleyn, in a secret ceremony.  One year later, the Act of Supremacy 1534 was passed which declared him Supreme Head of The Church of England, effectively breaking away from the authority of the Pope.

Monday, January 20

AllAboutLaw x Ellisons Solicitors - Crafting standout applications to Ellisons: succeeding in law outside the City.

Legal Cheek x Womble Bond Dickinson - Driving change: The impact of responsible business at Womble Bond Dickinson

Tuesday, January 21

LawCareers.Net x The University of Law - Second/third-year Bootcamp

Legal Cheek - Solicitor apprentices share insights into life in law (yrs 1-3)

Wednesday, January 22

LawCareers.Net masterclass: What you need to know as a non-law student

Legal Cheek - Solicitor apprentices share insights into life in law (yrs 4-6)

Legal Cheek x Gatehouse, Henderson, Keating, Landmark, Radcliffe Chambers and ULaw - Pupillage application masterclass

The University of Law - A Fireside Chat with CMS

Thursday, January 23

Legal Cheek - Dentons Dublin Insight Event — Inside a global law firm