GLOBAL RESEARCH: Allen & Overy and Linklaters identified as 'predominant' players

Clifford Chance has come out as the top adviser to the world's largest investment banks in research released last week.

A survey by BTI Consulting Group in Boston of more than 60 general counsel and business-unit heads at 21 global financial services firms, saw Clifford Chance's name come up more than that of any other law firm.

The research identified 36 firms which were named by the participants as primary legal services providers who, between them, share around $2.4 billion in fees (1.4 billion), including income from third parties influenced by the banks.

Each bank has an average of two primary advisers.

Investment banks spend up to eight times as much on legal advisers as the average Fortune 1000 company, it found.

Clifford Chance has the most primary relationships, while Allen & Overy, Linklaters and US/UK firm Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw were identified as 'predominant' primary advisers along with eight US firms.

Ashurst Morris Crisp, DLA, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Lovells and Simmons & Simmons were all mentioned in the third tier of primary law firms.

The importance of being a primary adviser looks set to grow as general counsel anticipate a 37% increase in spend from an average $12.7 million per primary firm to $17.4 million in the next year.

Pickings for non-primary firms will be much slimmer, with banks predicting they will spend an average of just $620,000 on a non-primary relationship.

However, not everything is rosy.

Only one in five of respondents recommended their primary firms to colleagues, with those who do not citing six main reasons: poor responsiveness, firms taking on too much work, untrained associates, lack of lawyers with skills in complex aspects of the industry, limited international presence (especially in Asia Pacific), and failures to manage projects.

As a result, half of respondents have hired a new firm in the past year, while 47% intend to increase tendering for work over the next 12 months.

Clifford Chance performed well in most categories, and was judged the best of all firms for international capability, with Linklaters appearing in the third tier.

Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw stood out as the best firm for understanding the client's business and was joint top at dealing with unexpected changes.

Herbert Smith and Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw were the only UK firms to feature in the table on value for money, while none was mentioned in the client service table.

John Carroll, Clifford Chance's managing partner for the Americas, said the survey confirmed the fact that such clients 'need legal advisers with strength and depth in both transactional and litigation work'.

Rachel Rothwell