Building on last year’s record performance, Herbert Smith Freehills has achieved its 11th consecutive year of annual revenue growth in its latest financial results.

The firm reported a 10% increase in revenue, rising from £1.186bn to £1.306bn. Net profit and profit per equity partner (PEP) also saw strong growth, with increases of 14.5% and 12% respectively. PEP rose from £1.173m to £1.315m, while total profit went from £388.2m to £444.5m.

Reflecting on this sustained growth in a statement, CEO Justin D’Agostino commented: ‘Our focus on our clients, core practices and priority sectors keep up in the leading pack of international law firms.’

He continued: ‘Our strategy has strong momentum, delivering continuous and sustainable growth across all practice areas and regions. Our well-hedged international business across a broad mix of geographies, sectors and practices makes the firm resilient.’

The firm identifies the UK as a very strong performer, and notes growth across Australia, Asia, EMEA, and the US.

‘We remain committed to our international network, investing strategically in areas such as private capital, energy transition, ESG and digital across all of our practice groups, sectors and regions’, said D’Agostino.

While last year HSF noted strength in disputes in a tough climate for transactional work, this year the firm was positive on its performance across the board: ‘our ‘twin-engines’ of transactional and contentious expertise drive our business forward’, said D’Agostino.

Disputes highlights include acting for US chip design company R2 Semiconductor in High Court proceedings against Intel concerning semiconductor patents, as well as successfully representing the Human Dignity Trust on a pro bono basis in Mauritius Supreme Court proceedings that ruled legislation criminalising private, same-sex, consensual activity was unconstitutional.

In the transactional space, notable mandates include advising Stonepeak on its €730 million acquisition of a 49% stake in Cellnex Nordics from Cellnex Telecom. Furthermore, HSF assisted Interpath Advisory in the sale of Toucan Energy’s solar portfolio to Schroders Greencoat for approximately £700m.

HSF expanded its global team with 14 new lateral partner hires across all regions. In its latest promotion round, the firm appointed 27 new partners, with 52% of these promotions going to women. This contributes to HSF’s overall female partnership, which now stands at 33%, marking an 18% increase since the establishment of gender targets in 2014. Looking ahead, HSF aims to achieve 40% female partners by May 2030, with aspirations for parity — 50% representation — in certain parts of the firm, such as Australia, in that time.

In addition to its personnel achievements, HSF reported providing over 80,000 hours of pro bono advice globally, and remains committed to supporting innovators and entrepreneurs through initiatives like The Earthshot Prize. This year, the firm also launched its Leading Digital Delivery practice.

D’Agostino commented: ‘I am proud of our achievements in the face of significant change and challenge in many of our markets. We continue to work closely with our clients to navigate this new world, by getting ahead of their opportunities, needs and concerns.’

anna.huntley@legalease.co.uk

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Ashurst is targeting expansion in the US as the firm announces financial results that show profit per equity partner reaching a record high and turnover just shy of £1bn.

The firm’s 2023-24 financial results show revenue climbed 9% to £961m, while PEP went up by 14% to hit £1.336m – a record-high figure that more than makes up for a slight decline last year that edged it down from £1.175m to £1.17m.

The revenue increase marks Ashurst’s eight consecutive year of growth, although is is slightly below last year’s increase of 10% and the previous year’s of 12%.

Global CEO Paul Jenkins told Legal Business he is happy with the results for the first year of the firm’s 2027 strategy: ‘We’re clear on where we want to focus, in terms of geography, sectors and practice areas, and it’s very good to see the fruits of that focus.’

He is also optimistic about his firm’s prospects of crossing of crossing a key milestone: ‘We’re in line to cross a billion pounds in revenue for this financial year.’

More than 85% of the firm’s turnover came from its five key sectors: banks and private capital, real estate, technology, infrastructure, and energy and resources, the last of which accounted for 23% of the firm’s revenue.

‘We’re starting to see a bounceback in transactional work’, said Jenkins. ‘But what we saw last year was particular activity in the energy sector, which translated to growth in a variety of areas, including projects, disputes, and corporate M&A.’

The firm’s disputes, investigations and advisory practice grew by 10%, while projects and energy transition was up by 11%, with ‘double-digit growth’ in corporate in Korea, Australia, Singapore, France, Italy, and the UK, and 10% growth in funds and restructuring across Asia Pacific. The firm also saw a strong performance in its consultancy and governance division (up 47%) and its Ashurst Advance business (up 16%), which launched a third global delivery centre in Krakow this February.

The UK, US, and Middle East all outperformed the firmwide revenue increase, with turnover bumps of 13%, 18%, and 17%, respectively. The firm also cited ‘significant growth in Singapore and a solid year in Australia’, with Italy and France as ‘standout jurisdictions’ in continental Europe.

The US growth rate was slightly slower than the 20% increase reported last year, however Jenkins said the firm has ambitious growth plans, targeting energy, real estate, private capital, and technology for further growth stateside.

Jenkins commented: ‘In the US, we’ve continued to double down on infrastructure and financial institutions. We continue to look for the right opportunities in our other key areas of focus. We’re looking for both incremental growth and more significant growth – whether it’s teams or otherwise. But we’ll only do that if it’s the right opportunity from a business perspective, and the right opportunity hasn’t arisen yet.’

US highlights over the last year include derivatives partner Nick Allen joining the New York office from Fried Frank in April, and Los Angeles projects and energy transition specialist Tristan Robinson being made up to partner in the firm’s most recent round of promotions.

The firm has secured a number of notable mandates. Ashurst’s London team is advising real estate investment trust Tritax Big Box REIT on a £3.9bn recommended all-share combination with UK Commercial Property REIT. Globally, the firm’s London and Hong Kong teams also advised The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation on the provision of its digital assets platform, known as HSBC Orion, to the Central Moneymarkets Unit of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

One area in which Jenkins sees opportunities, in the US and elsewhere, is private capital. Global private equity practice co-head David Carter left the firm for O’Melveny & Myers last week. However, Jenkins noted that Ashurst promoted PE senior associate Sara Hamzawi to the partnership in April, and pointed to firmwide experience in the broader private capital space beyond private equity.

Finally, Jenkins also highlighted the firm’s pro bono work: ‘Social responsibility is often not touched on in this context, but it’s very important to the firm, and we had our strongest pro bono year ever, at over 65,000 hours across the global firm.’

Alexander.ryan@legalbusiness.co.uk

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A clutch of major law firms have continued the trend for strong 2023-24 results, with Brodies, Shoosmiths, Clyde & Co and Watson Farley & Williams among the latest to reveal healthy financial figures.

Brodies has today (15 July) posted a 7.5% revenue increase to hit £114.3m, marking 14 consecutive years of growth for the firm after it hit a key milestone last year when it became the first Scottish firm to pass the £100m mark.

After a 6% bump last year, profit held steady with a 1.2% increase from £48.6m to £49.2m. Profit per equity partner (PEP) also stayed flat at £846,000.

Managing partner Stephen Goldie, who replaced Nick Scott in May following Scott’s retirement, said that the firm has made progress across all core practice areas – banking and finance, corporate and commercial, dispute resolution and risk, personal and family, and real estate. ‘Our strategic plans for the next three-year cycle are now underway and we look to the future with confidence, in ourselves and in the resilience and ambitions of the clients that we work with,’ he said in a statement.

Clydes has also posted a strong set of results, with revenue up 10% to £845m, and PEP up by more than 4% to £739,000, with profit up 3% to £174.4m.

The headline turnover increase comes after the 22% increase the firm notched last year, though only 6% of that was ‘organic growth’, with the rest of the bump accounted for by the completion of Clydes’ merger with BLM.

Clydes continued to expand this year, opening new offices in Warsaw and Jeddah in December and May respectively. The UK accounted for 47% of the firm’s total revenue, with the proportion of revenue generated outside the UK a percentage point down on last year’s 54%.

Europe was the fastest growing region with a 17% increase in turnover. The shares accounted for by the US and Asia-Pacific were each down by half a percentage point on last year, to 21.5% and 11.5% respectively. The Middle East and Africa accounted for 12% of the firm’s turnover and Latin America for 2% – the same proportions as last year, while the UK saw 9% growth.

Watson Farley & Williams has also posted double-digit growth of 11%, with revenue at £238.4m, up from £214.7m last year.

Overall profit also rose by 7.2% to £66.8m from £62.3m, with PEP remaining steady at £593,000, a slight increase of 1.5% from last year’s £584,000. Equity partner numbers, meanwhile, went up nearly 6% from 107 to an estimated total of 113.

Commenting on these results in a statement, managing partner Lindsey Keeble said: ‘We continue to build on the successes of previous years with double digit global income growth. With a majority equity partnership, we continue to invest in the firm to build a sustainable business with strength and depth at all levels.’

Revenue was also up at Charles Russell Speechlys, where a 13% bump took turnover to £218.3m after a 9% increase last year.

Profit was up by more than 20% to £45.9m, while PEP went up more than 30% to hit £661,000, comfortably offsetting last year’s 3% dip.

The firm’s UK offices generated £174.4m (a little under 80%), with £43.9m from overseas. International revenue growth was faster than the firmwide average, at 15%, with the Luxembourg, Paris, and Switzerland offices singled out as strong performers. The firm also reported 30% revenue growth in Asia, boosted by lateral hires and the July launch of its Singapore office.

‘Our results this year paint a picture of sustained growth’, said managing partner Simon Ridpath in a statement. ‘The fact we continue to see strong revenue and profit numbers and investments back into the firm bodes well for the future, and we remain fully confident in our strategy.’

The firm’s strategy still has private capital as a ‘core focus’ according to Ridpath who also mentioned the ‘raft of senior lateral hires across the firm’, referencing the 22 partners the firm has taken on since the last financial year.

At Shoosmiths, meanwhile, revenue ticked up 5% to push the firm over the £200m mark for the first time to hit £206.7m. Profit was up 5% to £66m, while PEP jumped 16% to £781,000.

Though the increase in turnover was slightly below both the 7% the firm posted last year and the previous year’s 8%, the firm exceeded last year’s performance on profit, which increased 3% last year, and PEP, which went up by just £1,000. The corporate and litigation departments both outperformed the wider firm at 15% and 12% growth respectively, while real estate stayed flat.

elisha.juttla@legalbusiness.co.uk

alexander.ryan@legalbusiness.co.uk

tom.cox@legalease.co.uk

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Legacy Allen & Overy saw revenue nudge up 3.4% in the last financial year before its transatlantic merger, against a surge in profits that took average PEP to £2.2m.

A&O Shearman has announced that turnover for the legacy UK firm edged up a modest 3.4% to £2.2bn for the financial year ended 30 April 2024.

The revenue increase is significantly lower than last year’s uptick of 8%, which saw A&O cross the £2bn mark for the first time, becoming the first magic circle firm to do so. Clifford Chance joined it in the £2bn club a week later, with Linklaters only following suit a year later when it this month confirmed that its revenue hit £2.1bn in 2023-24. 

While turnover growth at legacy A&O, which formally merged with Shearman & Sterling under the A&O Shearman banner on 1 May, was modest across the last financial year, profit growth was not: the firm reported an increase in profit before tax of more than 17% to a total of £1bn. 

This increase took average profits per equity partner (PEP) to £2.2m – up more than 21% from the £1.816m reported in last year’s LB100. Last year, by contrast, A&O reported a slight dip in profit and a 6.6% drop in PEP. 

Announcing its financial results, the firm said in a statement that the results had benefitted from a strategic partnership with Inflexion for its aosphere platform. The deal, announced in October 2023, saw the PE house make a strategic investment alongside A&O and US investor Endicott Capital in the legal and compliance data platform, leaving A&O a minority shareholder.

Although legacy A&O’s revenue growth for the last financial year is well short of the 10% Linklaters reported for the same period, its topline figure remains ahead. Its PEP is also higher, with Linklaters reporting a 10.3% increase in profit and an 8% jump in average PEP to £1.9m.

The positive results for legacy A&O come after Shearman saw revenue fall 7.7% to $837m in the 2023 calendar year, against a 3.5% increase in average PEP to $2.556m. At today’s Bank of England exchange rate, legacy A&O’s PEP for 2023-24 converts to $2.823m.

Last year’s Legal Business Global 100 report showed legacy Shearman posting a 10% drop in revenue to $906.9m for the 2022 calendar year. This came alongside an even bigger decline in PEP, which fell 18% to $2.478m.

Going forward, the newly merged firm will run its financial year to 30 April, in line with the legacy UK arm.

Commenting on the results Hervé Ekué, who was elected managing partner of A&O in March and now serves as global managing partner of the merged A&O Shearman, said:

‘In the year leading up to the completion of our merger, we’re pleased to report positive growth for the firm. This is testament to our strategic focus on diversification across regions, practices, and sectors.’

alexander.ryan@legalbusiness.co.uk

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Linklaters has become the first magic circle firm to announce its 2023-24 financial results, breaking through the £2bn mark for the first time after a double digit increase in revenue.

The firm confirmed record revenue and profits, with revenue climbing 10% from £1.901bn last year to £2.1bn, and pre-tax profit climbing 10.3% to £942m, from last year’s figure of £854m.

This translated to an 8% increase in profit per equity partner (PEP) to £1.9m while average profits across all partners climbed to £1.8m.

The firm highlighted its UK and US operations as standout performers, stating that both had posted their best-ever results. Its US revenues climbed by 24%. Linklaters’ most recent Companies House filing for the financial year ending April 2023 showed that the firm’s global revenue included £823.1m from the UK and £122.2m from the Americas.

Linklaters managing partner Paul Lewis told Legal Business: ‘We’ve been very strong globally – we’ve had our best year ever in the UK and US, Europe has been very strong and, notwithstanding a challenging market in China, you can look across the firm and it’s been strong across the board.’

‘We want to be bigger in the US’, he added, pointing to the January hire of a six-lawyer M&A team from Shearman & Sterling as a statement of intent. Led by Legal 500 Hall of Famer for $1bn-plus M&A deals George Casey, the team also includes partners Heiko Schiwek and Gregory Gewirtz.

‘The team hire in January has been a real success on all fronts. That was the start and by no means the end and we are actively looking to hire more. We’ve changed the system so that we have the ability to pay at very competitive levels,’ Lewis continued.

Discussing the practice drivers for the firm’s growth, Lewis said: ‘As part of our strategy, we’ve focused on six areas: high-end M&A, contentious mandates, complex financings, restructuring and insolvency, energy transition and tech. We’ve focused on investing in those areas, including lateral hires and partner elections, and when I look across the piece at the results, we’re on track and those investments are working.’

In the deals arena, Linklaters is advising UK drinks maker Britvic on its takeover by Carlsberg for £3.3bn, opposite Baker McKenzie. The firm is also advising UK homebuilder Barratt Developments on its proposed £2.5bn merger with Redrow, as well as multinational packaging group Mondi on its £5bn acquisition of DS Smith.

In restructuring, Linklaters’ team advised Crédit Agricole on the cross-border restructuring of global engineering and construction business McDermott International. Meanwhile, in disputes, the firm took on competition litigation mandates for Visa and has also been advising Experian on data protection related challenges.

Linklaters elected 27 new partners and 49 new counsel in its most recent promotion round, meeting its 40% global gender diversity target for female partner promotions, and its 15% target for under-represented minority ethnic partners (UK and US). The firm also recorded 55,000 hours globally on pro-bono work – its highest ever.

However the firm has seen a number of exits over the last year, with public M&A partner Dan Schuster-Woldan and antitrust partner Nicole Kar both leaving to join Paul Weiss’s ambitious London office.

Although Linklaters has changed its partner remuneration structure to make it easier to compete with high-paying US firms, Lewis stressed that competition goes beyond money.

He said: ‘It’s not all about money. It’s about doing the best work for the best clients. We are in 21 jurisdictions, and we can offer high-end, elite advice in all the places we are in. That is a competitive advantage because you’re trying to do the big complex, cross-border matters and that’s where we excel, with our seamless network making the difference.’

‘We’re focused on what we can deliver rather than worrying too much about what others are doing,’ he concluded.

elisha.juttla@legalbusiness.co.uk

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HFW has posted double-digit growth to break through the £250m revenue mark for the first time, with all key metrics rising as the firm sticks to its sector-focused strategy.

The firm boosted revenue by more than 11% during 2023-24 to hit £251m –  only a touch slower than the 13% growth that took it to £225.3m last year.

Net profit was up almost 17% to £75.4m, with PEP up more than 8% and PPL up over 6% to £855,000 and £139,000 respectively. RPL was also up, hitting £462,000.

The results underline a strong five-year performance, with revenue up more than 40% on 2019 and PEP up 78% over the same period.

The firm attributed the performance to its concentrated focus on its key areas of shipping, aviation, commodities, construction, energy, and insurance.

‘We’re pleased with the continued progress of the firm, particularly in the last couple of years’, managing partner Jeremy Shebson (pictured above) told LB. ‘We’re especially proud of the fact that we’re making positive inroads in our key sectors.’

Shebson was reluctant to set hard targets for revenue – though he did express an ambition to post ‘revenues with a three in front before too long’. He continued: ‘The first psychological barrier we had to break through to give the firm confidence in itself was to get over £200m in revenue. We did that a few years ago, and we’re very happy now to be over £250m.’

Almost 60% of the firm’s total revenue was generated outside of the UK, with over half of the firm’s offices achieving double-digit percentage increases in revenue in the last financial year. Australia notched the biggest rise, with turnover up by a third to cap off a ten-year streak of growth in the country. Middle East revenue, meanwhile, grew by 23%.

‘We see major opportunities for continued growth in continental Europe and the Middle East’, said senior partner Giles Kavanagh. ‘We have strong offices in both regions and we’re seeking to further join things up as a real regional offering to clients.’

China, too, is an area of focus for HFW: the firm opened an office in Shenzhen in July, becoming one of few firms to actively increase its presence in the country at a time when many US firms are pulling out. Kavanagh commented: ‘We celebrated 45 years in Hong Kong last year. Geopolitics are what they are, and things change over time, but we have strong embedded relationships in China. We see opportunities there – as others are retreating, we’re consolidating our position.’

Meanwhile, contentious work again made up around 70% of the firm’s total turnover, with the firm pointing to its January hire of an eight-lawyer team in Melbourne led by litigation funding specialist Maurice Thompson, as well as its April hire of Eversheds Sutherland international arbitration partners Julien Fouret and Gaëlle Le Quillec in Paris as key signs of growth in this area. These hires were among 23 partners brought into the firm over the last year, including four in London and seven in Australia.

HFW is bullish on expansion, if reluctant to express an explicit desire to merge. ‘We remain open to opportunity’, said Kavanagh, and both he and Shebson stressed the importance of culture – to individual and team hires as much as to any larger combinations.

In a statement, Shebson added a clear statement of intent: ‘Our intention now is to ramp things up and aggressively target partners, teams, and even bolt-on acquisitions that align with our strategy and culture. If you have a leading practice in one of our core sectors, anywhere in the world, and want to join a true partnership that operates as one firm globally, come and talk to us.’

Elsewhere, Fieldfisher has also posted a double-digit revenue hike to £359m  for the 11 months from 30 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 – a 10% increase on the corresponding 11-month period for the previous year.

The firm truncated its financial year to align with changes to HMRC’s basis period that require all self-employed individuals and partnerships be taxed on the basis of the tax year rather than that of their own financial year-end.

PEP rose £966,000, up 4% from the previous financial year.

Geographically, the firm saw a 14% revenue growth in its London office, a 14% rise in Manchester, and a 16% revenue increase in Birmingham. In Europe, significant developments included a 20% growth in the German office, now the firm’s fastest-growing international operation with offices in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, and Munich.

Fieldfisher’s European strategy also saw the relaunch of its Italian operation in April. Fieldfisher Italy has expanded to 32 professionals in its Milan and Bologna offices, reinforcing the firm’s investments in key locations.

In terms of practice areas, regulatory experienced the largest revenue increase at 36%. Key achievements include representing Euronet in a competition law claim against Mastercard and Visa, and providing regulatory and compliance support to Peloton. Dispute resolution saw a 17% increase in revenue, while the personal injury and medical negligence team achieved a 15% revenue increase. Additionally, financial markets and products grew by 14% and corporate by 10%.

Managing Partner Robert Shooter commented on the results: “This has been a year of significant progress, with our strategy focused on European expansion, collaboration and ESG gaining a real momentum. All our teams delivered outstanding results, despite challenging market conditions. We also continued to expand and strengthen our international footprint, increasing our presence in key markets.’

Key hires over the year included the addition of an eight-strong litigation team from Constantine Cannon, led by partners Richard Pike and Stephen Critchley.

Meanwhile, the firm’s alternative legal services offering continued to grow, with Fieldfisher Condor achieving a 17% revenue increase and Fieldfisher X generating £3m in revenue.

Alexander.ryan@legalbusiness.co.uk

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As UK financial reporting season kicks off, Osborne Clarke (OC) has today (2 July) posted a robust 19% revenue boost, passing the firm’s target of €500m to reach €525m.

The increase in international revenues – up from €442m last year – comes after the firm last September launched its third US office in Miami, marking its 26th international location.

Meanwhile, UK revenues jumped 11% from £217.3m to £240.5m, while net profit of £84.8m marks a 14% increase on last years’ £74.7m figure. Profit per equity partner (PEP) saw a parallel 11% increase, climbing from £687,000 to £771,000.

This revenue growth surpasses last year’s performance when the firm navigated weaker global economic conditions and a stagnant deals market to achieve a 9% increase in both international and UK revenues. However, the current PEP still falls short of the 2021-22 figure of £796,000.

Speaking with Legal Business, UK managing partner Conrad Davies expressed satisfaction with the strong results. ‘Given the market conditions we’ve experienced over the past 12 months, I believe we have maximised our top line and overall business performance,’ adding that the 2021-22 results should be viewed as ‘exceptional’ due to post-Covid market conditions.

Reflecting on this year’s growth, international chief executive Omar Al-Nuaimi (pictured) said: ‘We’re really pleased with the outcome; it’s been great across the board. A feature of the previous year was a flat transactional market. However, the past 12 months have been more consistent for us on the transactional side. Coupled with strong growth in advisory areas like ESG and energy, it’s meant that all parts of the business are firing at the same time.’

Davies added: ‘The service line growth in the UK mirrors our international performance. We observed modest growth in transactions compared to the previous year, which was relatively flat, but saw double-digit growth across all other practice groups.’

OC’s priority UK sectors – life sciences & healthcare, retail and consumer, and mobility and infrastructure – saw growth rates of 60%, 33%, and 26% respectively, while energy & utilities grew by 15%.

‘We have focused on areas with potential for profitable growth, investing in and concentrating our efforts on these sectors, which has paid off this year,’ Davies explained.

The year also saw a record promotion round, with 11 partners made up in May, complemented by the addition of 13 partner hires over the year. Notable laterals included Charles Russell Speechlys construction disputes partner Rupa Lakha and Stephenson Harwood restructuring specialist Nick Axup.

‘We’ve been identifying areas where we need to promote internal partners or bring in lateral hires to ensure we fill all gaps in our network,’ Al-Nuaimi noted.

In recognition of the firm’s strong performance, all UK staff this June received a 5% profit share bonus based on annual salaries. Additionally, August will mark the launch of a long-term incentive plan, with the firm set to reward high performers with bonuses of up to 40%, paid over three years.

‘This is the largest distribution we’ve provided to our people to date,’ Conrad commented. ‘Our philosophy is that when we succeed as a business and enhance profitability, we must reinvest in the business, while also rewarding our people.’

Looking ahead, after achieving the firm’s €500m target a year ahead of schedule, Al-Nuaimi characterised 2024-25 as a ‘free hit’, without specific new targets.

‘While I would be surprised if we achieve the same level of growth as last year, which was exceptional, we remain ambitious. The transactional market, in particular, feels very healthy compared to the past two years, and there are promising signs across all levels. I would be disappointed if this isn’t another successful year,’ he explained.

anna.huntley@legalease.co.uk

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Paul Weiss has broken through the $2bn global revenue mark, posting a 10.8% hike on last year, as the firm’s bold London recruitment drive continues to make headlines.

The firm’s 178 equity partners took home an average of $6.5m in 2023, with profit per equity partner (PEP) up 14.8% from $5.73m the previous year.

Overall profit came in at $1.17bn, while revenue per lawyer was up 5.3% to $1.98m from last year’s $1.88m.

In recent months, Paul Weiss has recruited some of the City’s biggest hitters, among a total of 17 partner hires. Most have joined from Kirkland & Ellis, following the defections of debt finance superstar Neel Sachdev and big-name corporate partner Roger Johnson in August. The duo joined to lead the US firm’s London office, initiating a wave of hires aimed at building up a substantial English law practice.

Sachdev brought with him a Kirkland team including debt finance partner Kanesh Balasubramaniam and capital markets partners Matthew Merkle and Deirdre Jones, while Johnson has assembled an M&A practice with ex-Kirkland partner Andreas Philipson, as well as a tax practice featuring former Kirkland partners Timothy Lowe and Cian O’Connor.

Other names joining from Kirkland have included debt finance partner Stefan Arnold-Soulby and technology and intellectual property transactions specialist John Patten.

Paul Weiss has also targeted the Magic Circle, starting with the hire of Linklaters M&A partner Will Aitken-Davies in September. Notably, Lowe, O’Connor and Patten also had stints at Linklaters.

In December, it came as no surprise when Paul Weiss hired from Linklaters again, bringing on Nicole Kar, the former head of the Magic Circle firm’s antitrust and foreign investment practice. Adding to the Linklaters alumni, the following month the firm hired public M&A partner Dan Schuster-Woldan.

Clifford Chance has also been a target, with high-profile private equity partner Christopher Sullivan and acquisition finance partner Taner Hassan coming over in December, and just last week (18 March), junior private equity partner Oliver Marcuse followed suit.

Outside of the Magic Circle, Paul Weiss has also hired former Ropes & Gray competition partner Annie Herdman, who also served at Kirkland earlier in her career.

The recruitment drive has seen a complete changing-of-the guard for Paul Weiss in London, which has had a modest City presence without English law capability since 2001. Last May deputy London head Ramy Wahbeh and corporate partner Kaisa Kuusk both left to join Sidley, followed by the departure of London managing partner Alvaro Membrillera to Kirkland in early August, a move which was one of a number of factors which sparked the flurry of moves in the opposite direction.

On the back of the new additions, the firm announced in October it was set to move into Twitter’s former UK headquarters in Soho.

Recent London deal highlights for Paul Weiss have included advising General Atlantic on its acquisition of a majority stake in coffee shop Joe & the Juice from Valedo Partners, with Johnson and Balasubramaniam working alongside partners in the US.

The seven billion dollar law firm

Despite the departures in London, Kirkland has consolidated its position as the largest law firm in the world, with global revenue increasing by 10% last year to $7.2bn, according to The American Lawyer.

The firm’s 539 equity partners took home an average of $8m as PEP increased 5.8%, with overall profit standing at $4.3bn. RPL also increased by 7.5% from $1.9m last year, to $2.05m.

As well as highly regarded private equity partner Membrillera, the firm has made a number of other significant recent additions to its team, including debt finance partners Ian Barratt and Sinead O’Shea, who joined from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, while Herbert Smith Freehills ESG head Rebecca Perlman also recently came on board in London.

O’Shea, alongside London debt finance colleague Jerome Hoyle, were recently part of a global team advising KKR on financing for its voluntary public takeover offer to all shareholders of Encavis, a leading German wind and solar park operator.

The firm’s restructuring team has also handled a number of significant mandates of late, such as advising global engineering and construction business McDermott International on the cross-border restructuring of around $2.6bn of the group’s secured debt facilities.

In 2023 Kirkland also opened a new office in Riyadh, recruiting corporate partner Noor Al-Fawzan and capital markets Manal Al-Musharaf from Latham & Watkins and White & Case respectively, to join the 20th global office of the Chicago giant.

elisha.juttla@legalease.co.uk

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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan posted an impressive set of 2023 financial results for its London office today (10 January), with revenue up 47% to £196.6m and profit up a staggering 60% to £153.6m, with a profit margin of 78%.

London senior partner Richard East (pictured), who founded the office in 2008, said: ‘We are extremely pleased with our 2023 results. It is a stunning achievement for a “disputes only” practice to approach £200m in revenue, especially taking into account the number of partners we have in London. This year’s results were boosted by a material one-off success fee, but even without this fee the office has very significantly improved revenue and profit as against 2022.’

The results see significant growth again after a flat 2021. Profits increased by 10% and revenue by 5% in 2022 – but this was still below the rates of increase in 2020, when profit rose by 34% and revenue by 27%. The picture is even more striking on a five-year time horizon: revenue has increased by 135% (from £83.6m) and profit by 159% (from £59.3m) since 2018.

The London office increased its partner headcount by three in 2023, to 29, with the hires of Pinsent Masons IP litigator David Lancaster in May, Cadwalader arbitrator Melis Acuner in September, and Morrison Foerster privacy and data protection litigator Gemma Anderson in December. This headcount increase did not stop the office’s PEP figure jumping by 45% 2022-23, to $5.3m from $3.6m. The firm also added 18 new associates and one new counsel, for a total headcount of 114, up from 92 last year. These headcount figures give an office RPL increase of 19% year-on-year, to $1.7m from $1.5m.

Speaking to Legal Business, East explained the firm’s strategy around lateral hires: ‘We try to hire great people, and sometimes great people come along who are in practice areas we already cover, and sometimes they come along in practice areas we don’t yet cover. I wouldn’t say we’ve ever focused on one area over another. If a big name in commercial litigation came to us, I wouldn’t turn them down because we already have people in commercial litigation. I very rarely turn down an opportunity to meet someone who’s interested in joining us.’

The firm has a number of major cases lined up for the year ahead, including acting for AT1 bondholders who saw their holdings written down to zero amid the collapse of Credit Suisse, defending SoftBank in Credit Suisse’s $440m high court claim over Greensill Capital’s collapse, and representing prospective class representative Liza Gormsen in her Competition Appeals Tribunal claim against Meta, which was heard for a collective proceedings order on Monday 8 January.

Alexander.ryan@legalbusiness.co.uk

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Join a firm where PEP means Performance Equals (more) Pay

The last two years have seen enormous growth in the legal market. With reports of record profits for many firms, particularly in the top 100, equity partners have enjoyed a considerable boost to their earnings. However, the need to resource this surge in demand for legal services has created a battle for talent and a consequent increase in the salaries of employees and non-equity partners, in order to attract and retain that talent.

The desire to sustain those earnings and the need to justify those salaries has driven an increase in billing targets and added yet further pressure on individual lawyers to perform.

While the recent financial performance of law firms has been exceptional, the wider economy is facing significant head winds, and law firms are not immune to the impending economic downturn. Increased interest rates for firms carrying a lot of debt, together with higher energy bills, will add to the costs of inflated salaries, paid during these recent boom times. With the demand for legal services likely to fall over the short-to-medium term, the loss of revenue to support those fixed costs will squeeze profits and impact the earnings of equity partners.

The pressure on firms to retain their ‘profit per equity partner’ will be felt from top to bottom, creating tensions and exacerbating the internal politics which derive from the sense of entitlement of some and the consequent feeling of unfairness among the others. The respective contributions of individual partners to the collective pot will come into sharp focus. Those putting in more than they are taking out might perhaps consider their position within the partnership and more generally the fairness of the traditional law firm model.

‘Keystone lawyers take home 75% of their billings if they are acting for clients they introduce to the firm.’

While the partnership model has been the mainstay of the legal market for centuries, the emergence of the consultancy model of law firms over the last 20 years has given lawyers a credible alternative through which to practice. Offering remuneration which is performance based through a fee-sharing arrangement has been the driver for growth, attracting lawyers who seek to be fairly rewarded for their expertise in an environment which is meritocratic. And lawyers have been turning to them in their droves. In fact, Arden Partners produced a report last year showing that the number of consultant lawyers is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 21%.

Earn more for the work that you do

At Keystone Law, we have rethought the law firm model to put lawyers back into the driving seat of their careers. Senior lawyers are rewarded fairly for the business they generate and the work they do, through a simple and transparent remuneration structure that applies to everyone.

Keystone lawyers take home 75% of their billings if they are acting for clients they introduce to the firm. They take home 60% of their billings if they are acting for clients introduced to the firm by a colleague. Colleagues who refer their clients to others take home 15% of the fees generated by such referrals. This creates a sense of fairness and equity across the firm but also provides a financial incentive for greater collaboration. Under this model, lawyers have complete autonomy and control over their practice. They can decide when and where, and with whom and for whom, they work, without interference from management.

Crucially, Keystone does not set billing targets and it gives its lawyers complete control of their most valuable assets – their clients. Together with a greater ability to be financially rewarded for the investment they make in their practice and clients, Keystone lawyers are motivated to perform to the best of their ability, on their terms.

No longer do lawyers have to be a slave to billing targets, attend unnecessary committee and management meetings or adhere to office politics. When joining Keystone, lawyers can focus exclusively on providing a top-rate service to their clients without exception.

Could and should you be earning more?

Are you being fairly remunerated for the work that you do? Scan the QR code to answer eight simple questions and find out how your life could change at Keystone Law.

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