Linklaters’ former Dutch ally De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek has stopped sending any work to the City giant, it has emerged, as the leading Amsterdam firm instead focuses on building referral links with Slaughter and May and Macfarlanes.

Speaking to Legal Week a year after the public collapse of merger talks between the firms in August 2002, De Brauw managing partner Jaap de Keijzer said the Dutch firm was still being sent work by Linklaters, but was not returning any referrals.