PINSENT CURTIS BIDDLE MERGER BRINGS CHANGE, BUT NO THREAT TO OVERALL RANKINGS

The merger of Biddle with Pinsent Curtis is the latest in the trend towards fewer, bigger City law firms, but the deal did little to alter the dominance of the 'usual suspects' at the top of the solicitor tables.

Notwithstanding a net loss of 5.5 stock market company clients last quarter, Slaughter and May continues to dominate the client number table - though its lead over traditional second-place Eversheds is more slender than ever. Only three clients now separate the two law firms. Positions are largely unchanged in the rest of the table, save for Pinsent Curtis Biddle, whose post-merger enlarged clientele moved it up two places to seventh place. While DLA recorded the largest net gain in clients this quarter, and moved up a place to eighth position.

Linklaters & Alliance held onto pole position in the client pretax profit table, ahead of traditional runner-up, Slaughter & May. Ashurst Morris Crisp jumped two places to third position with a 25% increase in reported client profits. Pinsent Curtis Biddle gained two places, while Clifford Chance dropped four places to tenth on the back of a fall of almost two thirds in reported client profits during the quarter.

Clifford Chance continues to dominate both the growth tables. The first three places in the earnings table remained unchanged, with Clifford Chance increasing its lead even though stronger performances were posted by second-placed Hammond Suddards Edge and third-placed Herbert Smith. Further down the table, both Slaughter and May and DLA profited from poorer performances by rival firms, jumping several places to sixth and seventh place respectively. A big drop in client earnings saw Nabarro Nathanson drop five places to ninth position.

In the table of fastest growing clients, Clifford Chance remains above the fray, with DLA jumping seven places to second and Hammond Suddards Edge hanging onto third position despite a drop in client profits. Herbert Smith drops three places to fifth, while Pinsent Curtis Biddle is down two notches at sixth place.

Overall, Slaughters remains the most consistently rated legal adviser, when assessed across the four criteria, ahead of second-placed Herbert Smith. Clifford Chance's dominance of the growth tables secures it third position.