Tom Borman
Following a blockbuster run that saw the firm smash the billion-pound profit ceiling in recent years, Linklaters has once again rewritten its own record books. According to the firm’s newly released FY26 financials, the firm has posted unprecedented revenue and profit-per-equity-partner (PEP) figures, confirming what the market has been whispering: Linklaters’ aggressive transatlantic play is paying massive dividends.
Riding the wave of an unrelenting U.S. expansion strategy and robust cross-border mandates, the firm’s FY26 results stand as a further testament to its aggressive growth, building on its 2025 growth. Linklaters is clearly no longer just defending its European fortress; it is taking the fight directly to the doorsteps of the most profitable American firms.
But it is also profiting from lucrative Asian work, generating partner profits of up to £2.5 million according to a Financial Times report.
The U.S. Bet Pays Off
If you want to understand Linklaters’ recent growth trajectory, look no further than New York. Over the past 24 to 36 months, Linklaters hasn’t just dipped its toes into the American market; it has cannonballed into it.
The strategic coup of bringing on heavyweights like George Casey to chair the Americas, alongside a top-tier litigation and finance team (including Adeel Mangi, Muhammad Faridi, and David Lucking), signalled a clear departure from the conservative, wait-and-see approach historically associated with London-headquartered firms.
Firmwide managing partner Paul Lewis said: “We continued to strengthen our leadership in legal AI, launching our applied intelligence team, hiring dedicated AI lawyers and rolling out frontier agentic technology to deliver more, better and faster, for clients.“
The expensive lateral raids, which included hires from Paul Weiss last month, have effectively turbo-charged the firm’s U.S. operations. The FY26 numbers reflect a maturing Stateside footprint that is now actively driving top-line growth rather than merely complementing the European network.
Growth, Issues, and Market Developments
While the headline numbers are a cause for champagne at Silk Street, the past year hasn’t been without its battle scars and strategic pivots.
- The Brutal Talent War: The transatlantic talent war remains vicious. U.S. firms in London continue to wield massive checkbooks (fueled by the ever-increasing Big Law salary scales), forcing Linklaters to consistently re-evaluate its lockstep model to retain star rainmakers. The firm’s ability to push its PEP figures substantially higher is as much a defensive necessity to ward off poachers as it is a victory lap.
- Capitalising on the Cycle: The firm has astutely navigated global economic headwinds, leaning heavily on its premier restructuring and insolvency practices. Bolstered by major recent hires across Europe, such as François Kopf in Paris, Linklaters has proven that when markets get choppy, its counter-cyclical practices are virtually bulletproof.
- Tech and AI Integration: The AI arms race in Big Law is well underway, and Linklaters has spent the past year heavily investing in proprietary legal tech to streamline complex M&A and leveraged finance mandates. The operational efficiency is no longer just a marketing talking point but is materially showing up in the bottom line.
The Verdict
Linklaters’ FY26 results aren’t just a financial statement. The firm has successfully shaken off the legacy constraints of the traditional Magic Circle to operate as a truly integrated, highly aggressive global powerhouse.
Building on the back of its £2.32bn revenue and £2.2m PEP milestones from FY25, this latest record-breaking year proves the momentum is real. As they look to FY27, the challenge will be maintaining this blistering pace while fending off elite U.S. rivals on both sides of the Atlantic.
