Clifford Chance revenues climb to £2.3 billion amid US expansion

PEP comes in at £2.04 million

Clifford Chance has gone public with its latest set of financial results, recording upticks in both global revenues and profits.

The Magic Circle firm saw a 9% increase in revenues to £2.3 billion, while partnership profits rose 10% to £856 million for the financial year ended April 30.

Profit per equity partner (PEP) remained relatively flat, moving from £2 million to £2.04 million.

The firm highlighted its global litigation, dispute resolution and regulatory investigations teams as key drivers of growth, with revenue in these areas increasing by 20% and now accounting for over 20% of the firm’s total income.

The firm also highlighted its success in the US where “ongoing investment” led to a 28% increase in revenues across the pond. In the last financial year, Clifford Chance has recruited 19 partners from various US firms to strengthen its New York, Houston, and Washington DC offices. The firm now has 115 partners in the US.

Charles Adams, global managing partner at Clifford Chance, said:

“In another year of very strong performance, our record profits have enabled us to make substantial investments in our global team and operations. These strategic investments are already yielding benefits for our clients and our firm and position us for long-term success.”

Adams continued: “All practice areas delivered strong growth, particularly our litigation teams, which had another exceptional year. Energy transition and infrastructure investment, technology including AI, and private capital all continued to drive strong client demand for our breadth of transactional and advisory capabilities and sector expertise on a global scale.”

Earlier this summer, Clifford Chance joined its Magic Circle rivals, except for Slaughter and May, in increasing the salaries of its newly qualified lawyers by 20% to £150,000.

CC also recently recorded a trainee retentions core of 75% with 42 of its 56 final-seat trainees staying on.