Baker McKenzie Tops Brand Index in Mainland Europe and Asia Pacific, Sees Big Jump in US
Baker McKenzie has retained its ranking as Mainland Europe’s leading legal brand, moved back to top position in Asia Pacific, and jumped up five places to take fourth spot in the US rankings of this year’s Thomson Reuters Regional Law Firm Brand Indexes (the Indexes).
The strong showing marks a pivotal year for the global firm, which crossed the USD 3 billion revenue mark for the first time, after winning a string of new panel appointments and mandates with some of the world’s leading companies. The Firm also strengthened its focus on key service offerings including digital transformation, sustainability, supply chain transformation and strategic transactions.
According to the legal buyers interviewed by Thomson Reuters, Baker McKenzie’s strength across Mainland Europe, coupled with its ability to connect European clients with the rest of the world, has been a key driver in the Firm taking top position for a fourth time.
“However, it’s more than just scale that has secured Baker McKenzie’s top spot for the last few years. Increasingly, the firm is developing a reputation for its client focus, specialist knowledge, ability to handle important work, and delivery of top-notch results. This combination of strength and depth has generated a score twice the number of points given to the next closest firm,” the Index report states.
Meanwhile, Baker McKenzie regained the top position in Asia Pacific after consistently delivering on the need for both global and local legal support.
“Clients noted that they favor the firm on the basis of its global platform and local market knowledge, and this has translated into incredibly strong levels of consideration for cross-border work…The ability to deliver that pan-regional promise of a connected global experience with deep local knowledge has put the firm at the top of the Index again this year,” Thomson Reuters confirmed.
In the biggest shift for the Firm, Baker McKenzie’s brand position moved up from 9th to 4th place in the US market, reflecting the recruitment of heavyweight laterals, investment in key centers including the Bay Area and New York, and a consistently high degree of responsiveness during the pandemic, and beyond.
According to Thomson Reuters, from a brand perspective, the factors gaining most in importance in this year’s US Brand Index were the need for clients to have fast, trustworthy advice from their external counsel. The rapid response aspect of legal work was increasingly important to clients, especially as in-house lawyer workloads continue to increase.
Commenting on these results, Baker McKenzie Global Chair Milton Cheng said, “We are incredibly grateful that in-house lawyers and other senior legal buyers consistently name Baker McKenzie as one of their trusted law firms for high value and multijurisdictional matters in key markets around the world. The legal sector is fiercely competitive, and to stand out across Europe, the US and Asia Pacific speaks to the sheer depth and breadth of our team globally. Despite the huge challenges we and our clients are facing today, the strength of our offering means I am confident that we will remain a trusted advisor to so many of the world’s most successful businesses well into the future.”
Baker McKenzie also placed 12th overall in the UK Brand Index, and earlier this year was named the world’s leading law firm brand for the 12th year running.