The 2009 Global 100

The Great Game

The American Lawyer's 2009 Global 100 rankings, compiled in conjunction with London's Legal Week, provide a glimpse of the far-reaching impact of the financial meltdown on the world's largest firms. In many cases the effect is profound: Clifford Chance's profits per partner, for example, fell by 41 percent, while Latham & Watkins' dropped by 20.5 percent. Such results are a far cry from the steep upward trajectory that global firms have long enjoyed.