Markus Hartung, Linklaters’ German head, lays claim to being Germany’s only full-time managing partner. He believes this puts him at an advantage.
“If you spend 100% of your time managing the practice, you are much more able to think strategically,” he says.

But he does concede there is a risk that people in his position can become like the character Major Tom in the David Bowie song ‘Space Oddity’ – floating up in space, out of touch with what is going on in the real world.