Linklaters has appointed former Shearman & Sterling co-managing partner George Casey as its first chairman of the Americas.
In the new role Casey is expected to focus on advancing Linklaters’ US strategy, building on what the firm described as its evolution into a full-service M&A powerhouse in the US since his arrival in January 2024.
Casey joined Linklaters in New York at the helm of a six-lawyer corporate team after nearly 30 years at legacy Shearman & Sterling, in a move the firm hailed at the time as a “transformational step” in its US growth plans.
Alongside his new role Casey will continue to serve as Linklaters’ global chairman of corporate and co-head of US M&A and his full-time practice, the firm said. Lauded as one of the top M&A lawyers in America, Casey has advised on deals worth more than $300bn over the course of his career, including Dow Chemical’s $130bn merger with rival DuPont in 2017.
Linklaters’ senior partner and chair, Aedamar Comiskey, said Casey’s new role would accelerate the firm’s growth plans in the US.
“George has had an outstanding impact on our firm,” she said. “Since his arrival, we have achieved significant milestones and strengthened our ability to provide top-tier legal services to our clients in the US and globally.”
Casey has led Linklaters teams that advised Dow on its partnership transaction with Macquarie Asset Management to launch $6bn Diamond Infrastructure Solutions and Rio Tinto on its $6.7bn acquisition of Arcadium Lithium, among numerous other major deals.
As Americas chairman Casey will work closely with Comiskey, Americas managing partner Thomas McGrath and the firm’s executive committee, and play a principal role in US strategy across clients and markets, continued expansion through lateral and internal growth, and service offering.
McGrath pointed to Casey’s ability to attract premier talent and deliver for clients, which he said “set the foundation for continued growth and success in the US”.
Casey’s hire was widely viewed as a signal of Linklaters’ ambitions in the US. Allen & Overy’s merger with Shearman last year handed it a significant presence in the States and put pressure on Linklaters and its other international Magic Circle rivals – Clifford Chance and Freshfields – to respond. Their growth in the US had long been limited by better-paying domestic rivals and in recent years all four had moved away from a pure lockstep pay model in a bid to better compete for top talent.
Since Casey’s arrival Linklaters, which phased out its pure lockstep partner pay model in 2021, has ramped up its US hiring efforts, adding 15 lateral partners across M&A, finance and disputes. Among them was a four-partner finance team that joined last October from A&O Shearman led by David Lucking, who had been global co-head of the firm’s financial markets practice.
Around the same time the firm brought on Michael Torkin as head of US capital solutions and special situations from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Joseph Profaizer from Paul Hastings as global co-chair of international arbitration. The firm now has nearly 50 partners across its two US offices in New York and Washington DC, according to its website.
Casey commented: “We’ve made tremendous strides in building a full-service US practice as part of the integrated global platform, which has been instrumental in helping us achieve for our clients. I look forward to enhancing our capabilities across the US market, working with Aedamar, Tom and our colleagues to continue our trajectory.”
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