At about the time this magazine was putting the finishing touches to its top 50 US law firm league table, Linklaters’ managing partner Tony Angel would have been finalising the speech he delivered to the part-nership during a recent get-together.

Angel took to the podium to the jaunty tones of the Queen hit Under Pressure, a reference to suggestions that partners are getting restless about the firm’s profitability, especially in the light of the storming performance of its US rivals.