These are turbulent times for Clifford Chance (CC), which this year lost its long-held title as the world’s largest law firm by revenue after the firm was overtaken by Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Revenue fell 5% to £1.26bn and profits per equity partner fell 37% from £1.15m to £733,000, the sharpest fall among its peer group.
There were early indications of the strain on the business on 14 October when the firm announced it was to lay off 20 litigators in the US – a surprise move for a practice the firm had spent much time building.
