Clifford Chance partners pocket £2.3m as private markets drive growth
Magic circle firm Clifford Chance’s revenue surpassed £2.6bn for the first time, largely driven by the surge in private market work.
The firm’s revenue was up 9 per cent from £2.4bn last year, as the Canary Wharf-headquartered firm said that while all service lines performed well, the hike was driven largely by “momentum in the private markets” and demand in providing cross-border advice “across the entire private capital spectrum”.
In particular, the firm said it has seen “strong activity” in private equity and mergers and acquisitions, funds and investment management, restructuring, and private credit.
Over the year, Clifford Chance has advised on private equity and M&A transactions totalling $300bn (£224.4bn), including seven deals valued at over $10bn (£7.4bn) each, including acting for financial services group Legal & General on a landmark private credit partnership with private equity giant Blackstone last July.
The magic circle giant also reported partnership profit exceeded £1bn for the first time, hitting £1.05bn, up 11 per cent from last year.
While profit per equity partner (PEP) climbed by 9 per cent, leading to the firm’s partners pocketing around £2.3m each.
Commenting on the results, Charles Adams, the firm’s global managing partner, said the results “reflect the trust that clients place in us for their most critical cross-border matters.”
“In an increasingly complex and fragmented geopolitical environment our connected global expertise combined with sector insights, give our clients a distinct advantage. This continues to set us apart at the top end of the market, delivering sustained profitable growth while strengthening the firm through substantial investments in talent and technology.”
Clifford Chance continues US presence push
Following suit with all the elite Enlight law firms, Clifford Chance has been upping its US presence in recent years.
Out of 25 new lateral partners the firm hired globally and 28 internal promotions over the last year, 15 of those were based in the US.
Since January last year, Clifford Chance has also hiked up its partner headcount in the US with 34 new partners to expand its New York, Houston, and Washington, D.C. offices and bring the total number of US partners to 156.
Because of this, the firm’s US revenue grew by 9 per cent over the year, contributing to a 65 per cent total increase in revenue in the US since 2023.
This comes after Linklaters also reported a year of record growth on Tuesday, with partner profits doubling as they soared to £2.5m.