Six City law firms bag over £1bn

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The Magic Circle of City law firms - Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy - all showed double-digit revenue growth in the past year, according to The Lawyer magazine.

They were joined by two overseas firms - Skadden and Latham - in the &1 billion-plus revenue bracket, creating what the profession now calls the half-dozen "global elite".

But it is the four London firms occupying the top positions in the table that show the capital's continued dominance in legal matters. At the same time, the proportion of revenues for British firms coming from their overseas operations continues to grow more quickly than domestic income. Notable growth areas for many firms were central Asia, Russia, eastern Europe and the Middle East.

When it comes to profit per equity partner, legal firms' preferred measure of profitability, American firms appear to dominate the top 10.

Sullivan & Cromwell partners each earned the firm the equivalent of £1.57 million last year. Among the London firms Freshfields did best, coming in second place with profits of £1.44 million per partner. Linklaters came third with a similar amount, while Clifford Chance was sixth at £1.15 million and Allen & Overy ninth with £1.12 million.

But the firms accept that they will feel the pinch as merger and acquisitions activity slows in western Europe and the US.

Clifford Chance managing partner David Childs told The Lawyer: "I'm confident the firm is well positioned for the less-favourable market conditions that we are likely to face."