Leading City law firms continued to behave with less than their customary decorum over the European M&A figures last week following the publication of the 2001 tables, with two firms in particular topping the list of moaners: Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
The arch rivals fought among themselves right up until the bitter end before the results were published over the validity of each other’s submissions for the tables. And unlike the usual gentlemanly manner both firms normally adopt when they meet face-to-face over multi-billion pound corporate deals, this fracas was more reminiscent of a playground spat as the two firms argued about which had really topped the M&A tables for 2001.
