Ex-Asia head beats odds to land top job at Linklaters

Former Asia chief Simon Davies has officially won the battle to become Linklaters’ firmwide managing partner, replacing incumbent Tony Angel.

Davies, who becomes the magic circle firm’s youngest-ever managing partner at the age of 39, secured the top job after the firm’s 500-plus partners voted for him last week following a recommendation from its international board.

Davies vowed to continue with the firm’s current strategy, saying: “I’ve been a member of excom [the firm’s executive committee] for many years and have had much input into the current strategy of being market leaders, so I wish to push this further ahead.”

As first revealed on www. thelawyer.com (2 February), Davies, who only became a partner in 1999, will focus on ensuring a continuing high-quality service and on developing young talent.

When the race for the top job kicked off last year, capital markets chief Nick Eastwell and banking head John Tucker were seen as joint favourites, with Davies only thought of as having an outside chance to win.

The turning point, however, was when he won the support of senior partner David Cheyne, who initially favoured Eastwell.

Cheyne told The Lawyer: “Given Simon’s significant management skills and experience, he’s ideally placed to build on the remarkable progress the firm has made under Tony’s leadership.”