Clifford Chance partners see pay packets surge to record highs of more than £2m
Partners at Clifford Chance are set to see their pay packets surge to £2m for the first time in the law firm’s history after the Magic Circle law firm revenues surged by 8 per cent to highs of £1.97bn.
Clifford Chance’s equity partners will take home a record £2.04m this year after the law firm’s profit-per-equity partner payouts increased by 10 per cent on the back of “outstanding” results for the past financial year.
The uptick saw the Canary Wharf headquartered firm post its seventh consecutive year of record profits and revenues, as it continued to grow in all regions at an average rate of eight per cent – despite its departure from Russia.
Formed through a merger between two law firms in 1987, Clifford Chance traces its origins back to London law firm Coward Chance, which was first established in 1802.
According to figures from The International Lawyer, the Magic Circle law firm is the world’s tenth largest law firm by revenues, and the second biggest in the UK.
Clifford Chance global managing partner Charles Adams credited the law firm’s “long-term strategic focus” on growth in “priority geographies such as the Americas” for its strong financial results.
The law firm chief noted the firm had grown in all regions “despite geopolitical uncertainty and signs of a slowdown in some markets.”
“As we observe the evolving geopolitics in a number of regions, the appalling Russian military aggression in Ukraine, as well as the global economic headwinds linked with the impact of inflation and supply chain fragility, it is critical we remain agile and ready to embrace change as well as act when needed,” Adams said.
Clifford Chance’s long-term growth strategy has seen the firm’s revenues increase by 46 per cent over the past seven years, in a shift that has seen partners pay packages increase by 82 per cent since 2015.
The record partner payouts come after Clifford Chance upped pay for its newly qualified lawyers to £125,000 a year in the midst of a battle for talent amongst the UK’s major law firms.