September, 22, 2017
Cover Story
For Global Law Firms, Is This as Good as It Gets?
Chris Johnson
The new normal for the world's largest law firms is shaping up to be slowing growth and falling profits.
Cover Story
Chris Johnson
The new normal for the world's largest law firms is shaping up to be slowing growth and falling profits.
| September 25, 2017
Results of our Global 100 survey and analyses show growth is slowing and profits are dipping. Firms are adjusting to rapid-fire market changes as the world adjusts to the multitude of geopolitical forces at play. Figuring out the proper global complement is increasingly challenging, but there are opportunities to be had with new markets emerging as key players on the world stage.
Global 100
americanlawyer | September 25, 2017
Profits per equity Partner among Global 100 firms averaged $1.6 million in 2016, an increase of less than one percent, and less than 2015's nearly five percent gain. Seventy-five firms topped $1 million in PPP, compared with 76 firms the previous year. U.S. firms make up the top 10, with Slaughter and May the highest-ranking non-U.S. firm, ranking twelfth. This chart ranks the most profitable firms on our Most Revenue and Most Lawyers charts, which, combined, include 157 firms. To be eligible for this list, a firm had to appear on one of those two charts. Figures for U.S. firms came from The Am Law 100. All other firms were surveyed directly. PPP is rounded to the nearest $5,000, and gross revenue is rounded to the nearest $500,000.
Global 100
| September 25, 2017
Overall lawyer head count for global 100 firms was 122,157 in 2016, up 2.7 percent from 2015. Forty-seven of the 100 largest firms by head count have more than 1,000 lawyers. Fifty-eight firms have the largest proportion of their lawyers in the United States, 17 have the largest proportion of their lawyers in the United Kingdom and 12 have most of their lawyers in China. The number of lawyers listed here is the average full-time-equivalent for the 2016 fiscal year. (For U.K.-based firms, the number of lawyers is the average full-time-equivalent for the fiscal year ending April 30).
Global 100
| September 25, 2017
Gross revenue for The Global 100 grew by 2.8 percent in 2016, to $99.3 billion, just shy of 2015's increase of 3.1 percent. This year 81 of the world's top-grossing firms have more lawyers in the United States than elsewhere, while 12 have the greatest proportion of their lawyers in the United Kingdom. Eight firms are structured as vereins or European Economic Interest Groups (EEIGs). Thirty-four firms had more than $1 billion in revenues, compared with 35 last year. In most cases, gross revenues for U.S. firms are derived from The Am Law 100. Other firms were surveyed directly for The Global 100, the Asia 100/China 50, or Legal Week's UK Top 50. Currency conversion rates to U.S. dollars are annual averages for 2016. Lawyer numbers are average full-time-equivalent numbers for 2016. Gross revenue figures are rounded to the nearest $500,000, while revenue per lawyer figures are rounded to the nearest $5,000.
Chris Johnson | September 26, 2017
The largest ever outbound acquisition by a Chinese company wins Grand Prize, Corporate, in the Global Legal Awards. Simpson Thacher; Homburger; Linklaters; Davis Polk and Bär & Karrer were among the firms that made the deal happen.
Emily Barker | September 26, 2017
Resolving this sprawling cross-border insolvency took the best efforts of Herbert Smith, Goodmans, Cleary—and many more.
Chris Johnson | September 26, 2017
Bruchou, Fernández Madero & Lombardi; Cleary; Errecondo González Funes; Shearman & Sterling and Argentina's Ministry of Finance worked on the deal that returned Argentina to international capital markets after a 15-year exile.
Gina Passarella | September 26, 2017
Morrison & Foerster and Latham & Watkins are among the law firms cited for their work for refugees.
Anna Zhang | October 01, 2017
Outward investment by Chinese companies fueled local law firms' growth in 2016.
Meghan Tribe | September 21, 2017
In our annual Summer Associates Survey, Foley Hoag and Duane Morris tie for first place.
Summer Associates
americanlawyer | September 21, 2017
Below is a ranking of law firms based on the overall satisfaction score given by their 2017 summer associates.
Hugh A. Simons | October 18, 2017
Law firm expansion remains en vogue, but few firms do it for the right reasons.
Scott Flaherty | September 28, 2017
The number of cross-border litigation matters is growing—but the cadre of firms that lead in this lucrative niche remains relatively small.
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