Top London firms’ hopes of closing the profits gap with their New York rivals received a major setback this year as research by Legal Week Global reveals that the UK’s four largest firms saw partner profits fall by an average of 7.75% in their latest financial year.
The four firms, all members of London’s so-called magic circle of top advisers – Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy and Linklaters – saw average profits per partner slip by between 1% and 15% in the year to April (see pdf).
