Linklaters doubles down on US with rainmaker appointed to lead the Americas

Linklaters has announced the appointment of renowned corporate rainmaker George Casey to the newly-created role of chairman of the Americas.

The move is a significant step forward in the Magic Circle firm’s strategy to cement its presence in the competitive US market, particularly in cross-border M&A.

As Americas chair, Links says Casey will work closely with the firm’s senior leadership to focus on further expanding lateral growth and strategic client relationships.

In addition to his new role, Casey remains the firm’s global chairman of corporate and co-head of US M&A.

Linklaters’ US strategy

Linklaters has been steadily building out its M&A, finance and litigation capabilities in the US. Casey himself joined from Shearman & Sterling, where he was co-managing partner, in January 2024 alongside five other M&A dealmakers. At the time, the hires were heralded by Linklaters as a “transformational step” for the firm’s US business.

Since then, Linklaters has added 12 further preeminent lateral partners in the US across M&A, finance and disputes, and elected four additional US-based Linklaters lawyers to the partnership.

In just over a year, Linklaters has won mandates on major deals such as Rio Tinto's $6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium and Dow's $6 billion infrastructure partnership with Macquarie.

Divergent approaches

As well as Linklaters, A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance and Freshfields have all embarked on similar US growth projects.

Freshfields and Clifford Chance have opted for similar - if more aggressive - organic growth strategies to Linklaters.

Meanwhile, A&O has gone for a merger-driven strategy which saw it combine with Shearman & Sterling in 2024 to build out a stronger US presence overnight.

The financials

Significantly, Linklaters lags considerably behind its Magic Circle peers in terms of US revenue, which was £149 million for FY24.

Freshfields has been the most successful of the bunch. Its US income of £391 million accounted for 20% of its global revenue as of 2024, having grown by 147% since 2019.

Clifford Chance’s US revenue is close behind at £332 million, followed by (pre-merger) A&O at £280 million.

Linklaters’ new role for Casey seemingly seeks to address the disparity.

What they said

Linklaters’ senior leadership is optimistic about the firm’s prospects in the US.

Aedamar Comiskey, senior partner and chair, said "George has had an outstanding impact on our firm. Since his arrival, we have achieved significant milestones and strengthened our ability to provide top-tier legal services to our clients in the US and globally. I am confident that his vision and dedication in this new role will further accelerate our ambitious growth plans in the US".

Casey said: "It is such an exciting time for Linklaters in the US We’ve made tremendous strides in building a full-service, market-leading US practice as part of the integrated leading global platform, which has been instrumental in helping us achieve transformative outcomes for our clients".

Americas managing partner Thomas McGrath said "George’s ability to attract top-tier talent and deliver outstanding results for our clients has set the foundation for continued growth and success in the US. I’m excited to collaborate with George in his new role and look forward to the impact we will achieve as we build on our momentum".