Clifford Chance, a 'magic circle' law firm, announced a record financial performance for the year ended April 30, 2025. The firm's partners pocketed an average of £2.11 million each in profit per equity partner (PEP), a slight increase from the £2.04 million in the previous year and £2 million in 2023. This achievement comes despite what some sources refer to as challenging market conditions in the US during the latter half of the financial year.
The firm's total revenue surged by 9% to £2.4 billion, marking the first time it surpassed the £2 billion threshold since 2023. Partnership profit also increased by 11% to £944 million. All regions contributed to this robust growth, with Europe (including the UK) and Asia Pacific seeing solid revenue increases of 6% and 5% respectively. The Middle East notably experienced a 36% revenue increase.
The US market played a significant role in the firm's growth, achieving its second consecutive year of substantial expansion with an 18% jump in revenue. Over the past two years, US revenue growth has exceeded 50%. The firm also made strategic investments in its US operations, hiring 13 new partners in New York, Houston, and Washington D.C., bringing the total number of US partners to 122. Since launching in Houston in 2023, that office has grown to 15 partners and 41 fee earners.
Clifford Chance's global managing partner, Charles Adams, attributed the record results to the resilience of the firm's global platform, balanced by the diversity of its client base. He emphasized that all regions and practice areas contributed to the strong performance amidst macroeconomic headwinds, enabling continued investment in talent and operations for future success. In US dollar terms, the firm's revenue was $3.089 billion, profit $1.208 billion, and PEP $2.7 million.
