Baker McKenzie has retained its title as the top law firm brand in mainland Europe for the second year running, according to a survey of in-house lawyers.

The Acritas Mainland Europe Law Firm Brand Index 2019 asked 349 general counsel in $1 billion+ revenue organisations across Europe, not including the U.K., about their awareness of and "favourability" towards law firms. It focused on, among other things, top-level litigation and major M&A deals.

Legal research firm Acritas attributes Baker McKenzie's success this year to its ability to leverage "its global coverage and experience to generate more cross-border consideration than any other firm", and "to increasingly being considered for clients' top-level work, especially in Germany and the Netherlands".

Meanwhile, Magic Circle firm Linklaters remains in second place, CMS moves up four places to take third spot, and DLA Piper retains fourth position.

Completing the top 10 are Magic Circle duo Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance in joint fifth place, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in sixth, with the final three spots going to global players White & Case, Hogan Lovells and Dentons.

Baker McKenzie also topped the table last year in Acritas's inaugural European law firm brand rankings.

Earlier this month, the firm secured top spot in the Social Mobility Index 2018 – which assesses firms' social mobility efforts – matching its success in the Asia-Pacific Law Firm Brand Ranking, which it has topped since 2017.

In July, Baker McKenzie took further steps to financially integrate its offices across Europe, the Middle East and Africa – a process that began in 2018 when the firm brought its London office and seven European operations into a single profit pool.