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COVER STORY: Strongest of links
Cheyne gets down to business |
In a 30-year career as the City’s leading dealmaker, you would expect Linklaters’ senior partner-elect David Cheyne to have made his fair share of enemies and admirers. Views on Cheyne range from him being an arrogant ego-maniac (‘Whatever the conversation is about to begin with, he will always manage to make himself the subject matter by the end of it.’) to that of a hard-working, teetotal City gent (‘He gives the impression that work is everything and when it’s done he goes home to his family.’) But, whatever your view, there is no doubt that his elevation to the top job at Linklaters has been met with trepidation across the Magic Circle.
As the principal architect behind Linklaters’ de-equitisation programme four years ago, Cheyne’s hard-line stance on under-performance is well known. Less well known are his views that the firm should be more selective in the range of work it undertakes for European clients; that it should focus on bigger, more complex transactions; that its China arm can expect massive investment; and that the firm’s organic growth strategy in the US may not deliver a top-tier practice long-term. The thread linking these views is that Linklaters is set for stage two of its recent evolution, with another refinement of its global network and practice areas coupled with a regrouping around its most valuable clients. As Cheyne tells LB: ‘Commitment and enthusiasm are my two mantras. I insist upon them.’ Woe betide anyone at Linklaters who isn’t ready for the challenge.
James Baxter, editor
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