A man is reflected in the front window of the offices of Linklaters the lawyers in central London, Thursday June 23, 2005. Linklaters, which advised on more European mergers and acquisitions valued at above $1 billion in the first quarter than any other competitor, topped the latest annual profit rankings of London-based law firms. Photographer:Andy Shaw/Bloomberg News Credit: Andy Shaw/Bloomberg News

Linklaters has become the latest law firm to cancel its partner conference amid the growing outbreak of coronavirus.

The conference, which was scheduled to be held in Berlin at the end of April, will instead take place virtually, according to the firm.

Around 500 partners were expected to attend the conference.

Last week, the firm advised that all staff returning from coronavirus hotspots, including mainland China and Northern Italy, should work from home for 14 days.

It comes as law firms across the globe up their efforts to contain the virus in the wake of growing numbers of cases.

U.S. firm Latham & Watkins also cancelled its global partner meeting last week, which was scheduled to take place in New York.

Last week, Baker McKenzie closed its London office after a member of staff reported feeling unwell after returning from Italy. The firm re-opened the office on Monday after the individual tested negative for the illness.

In the U.S., Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe told partners it will not be holding a planned retreat in San Antonio due to coronavirus concerns. Meanwhile, Norton Rose Fulbright and Baker Botts are excluding Asia-based attorneys from their partner meetings.

A number of firms also pulled out of the global real estate conference, MIPIM, prior to the organisers delaying the event until later in the year.

A spokesperson at the firm said: "We have cancelled our annual partner meeting in Berlin and instead this will be held as a virtual meeting for the partners. We have invested in a suite of technology tools to help our people work from home and are encouraging them to test these if we need to implement a remote working policy.

"As a firm, we have been responding to the outbreak for over five weeks in our Asia offices, with teams working from home or in split team fashion to reduce the number of people in the office at any one time and avoid peak commuting hours. We are therefore well-prepared and ready to respond to any disruption that may occur to other offices."