Eversheds Sutherland is back on top of the annual Acritas UK Brand Index, trumping all Magic Circle firms in the 2019 survey, which asked legal services buyers which firms would get their business.

The survey, now in its 12th year, says Eversheds was the most highly favoured firm by buyers overall for its "practical and commercial" legal advice and for "perceiving the firm to offer innovative solutions".

Acritas, a specialist marketing and research group, interviewed more than 300 UK organisations and close to 200 non-UK senior counsel with revenues above £25 million, to compile data for the report.

It said Eversheds has recovered from the "post-merger dip", which can affect a firm's brand. Eversheds topped the index in 2016 and 2017, but fell to second place in 2018. Eversheds merged with US firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan in February 2017.

The report said Eversheds brand success comes from an "increasingly respected London operation", "increased performance" of its litigation practice, and its capability across Europe and the U.S.

Magic Circle firms Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer secured third place and fifth place, respectively. Pinsent Masons came in second and DLA Piper fourth.

U.K. firms dominated the top 20. Baker McKenzie, Squire Patton Boggs and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) were the only non-U.K.-based firms to feature.

A separate breakdown Acritas provided to Legal Week, comparing brand favourability across different sectors, showed Magic Circle firms still reign supreme among financial institutions, taking all five top spots.

But Eversheds and Baker McKenzie broke their grip on the largest U.K. corporates in a broad range of sectors, unseating Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance from the top five.

An Acritas spokesperson said the firms that ranked most highly were also those perceived as the most innovative by buyers – with pricing and the use of technology among their criteria.

Acritas director Jo Summers said the index showed that the UK legal market is becoming "increasingly price-sensitive" and that UK legal buyers ranked competitive pricing as a "key reason" for favouring certain firms.

Summers said this also meant buyers were more likely to choose firms that could access "cost-effective services with the same large-law quality stamp" from their national networks.

The research group said Brexit has also influenced buyers that are looking to strengthen their own presence outside the U.K. and are looking to firms they "know and trust" to provide legal support. It said it was "no surprise" that the biggest risers in this year's index were Freshfields, with its strong presence in Germany, and Squire Patton Boggs, with its US presence. Both rose five places this year: Freshfields to fifth and Squire Patton Boggs to 12th.

Acritas said its index is a reflection of which firms are "uppermost in clients' minds, whom they are most attracted to and whom they are most likely to give their work".

Interviewees were asked which firms perform best in five general areas: top-of-mind awareness, favourability, consideration for top-level litigation, consideration for major M&A and most used firms overall.