Clifford Chance partners have taken home a record £2.1 million (€2.4 million) on average for the year to the end of April, after heavy investment in the US and high-profile work for clients including Disney led to the “magic circle” law firm’s highest-ever revenues.
The pay-day for equity partners, who share in the firm’s profits, marked an increase on the £2.04 million they earned last year on average, and came after revenues rose 9 per cent to £2.4 billion, Clifford Chance said on Wednesday.
In the US, where the firm has three offices following a Houston launch in 2023, revenues increased by nearly 20 per cent. Critical mandates in the region included advising the US Department of Energy on its $1.5 billion sustainable aviation fuel programme and securing a successful verdict in a $2 billion suit against Caterpillar.
The elite magic circle group of UK-founded law firms have been competing to expand in the US – the world’s biggest legal market – in a bid to boost growth and win new clients. Unlike rivals Freshfields and A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance does not have a Silicon Valley office, but managing partner Charles Adams said a California base would be “logical” at some point “in the medium term”.
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Clifford Chance is the second magic circle firm to report results this week, after Linklaters said its roughly 490 equity partners had taken home record average pay of £2.2 million, also buoyed by strong performance from its American offices.
However, law firm finances are notoriously difficult to compare, due to relatively low disclosure requirements in the UK compared with listed companies. Clifford Chance did not share how many equity partners it has or its total profit figure.
The firm said it would continue to expand in the US, where it has 122 partners, having hired 13 over the past year. That compares with Linklaters’ 52 US partners and about 175 at A&O Shearman, which completed a transatlantic merger in 2024.
“We will continue to grow roughly at this pace in the United States,” said Adams. Revenues for its US division, which includes São Paulo, came in at £385 million for the year.
Outside the US, the firm has benefited from its long-running role advising News Group Newspapers in its defence against a claim of illegal information gathering brought by Prince Harry, which was settled earlier this year.
The firm has also picked up a role advising Disney on its new theme park resort in Abu Dhabi. Clifford Chance recorded a 36 per cent rise in revenues to £102 million from its Middle East and Turkey offices over the year, as Saudi Arabia’s economy rapidly opens up and expands. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
