The firms that appear in the 2018 Global 100 are the largest 100 law firms in the world ranked by revenue.
Financial year end
Financial data shown is for the last financial year – either calendar year 2017 or 2017/18. Financial years differ – most end in December in the US, and in April in the UK.
Legal Business takes the compilation of the Global 100 very seriously. We make every effort to ensure that the figures we publish are accurate and precise.
The overwhelming majority of firms co-operate fully with us in this regard by providing us with the required information. Some firms choose not to co-operate officially with our data collection process and in these circumstances we rely on figures from trusted but anonymous sources. For Verein firms Dentons and King & Wood Mallesons, which do not provide global profit figures, no estimates have been made. Global 100 year-on-year profit calculations have been made excluding these firms.
Firms with a † symbol next to their name chose not to provide any financial information.
Definitions
Turnover/revenue
Revenue figures do not include VAT, disbursements, interest or anything other than the worldwide fees generated by lawyers for their work during the last financial year.
Headcount
Total lawyer numbers include partners, trainees, assistants, associates, of counsel and all other fully qualified lawyers but do not include legal executives, paralegals or other support staff. Reflecting standard reporting practice in the US, firms have been asked for full-time equivalent lawyers over the financial year.
Equity partners
We define full equity partners as partners that are full participants in the firm’s profits.
Non-equity partners
Non-equity partners, be they fixed-share equity, salaried, or laterals on probationary periods, are those that are not full participants in the firm’s profits, though they may have voting rights.
Net income
We define net income as the total profit available to be shared among full equity partners. We treat profit sharing with non-equity partners as an expense, and it is therefore not included in the net income figure.
Profit per equity partner (PEP)
We calculate PEP by dividing net income by the number of full equity partners over the year.
Revenue per lawyer (RPL) and profit per lawyer (PPL)
RPL is calculated by dividing turnover by the total number of lawyers. PPL is calculated by dividing net income by the total number of lawyers.
Profit margin
Profit margin is net income as a percentage of turnover.
Turnover change 2013-18
This figure is a straight percentage increase in revenue between the 2013 Global 100 report financial year and the 2018 Global 100 report.
Exchange rates
We have used annual average exchange rates for 2017 given by the US Federal Reserve for any currency conversions.
- £1 equals $1.2890.
- €1 equals $1.1301.
All year-on-year and five-year revenue and profitability percentage changes are based on figures reported in dollars for the relevant years, which may not be an accurate reflection of how a firm has performed in its home currency during the same period.
Footnotes
- Baker McKenzie has a different year end to most Global 100 firms. Figures included here apply to the year ending 30 June 2017.
- UK headquartered firms – At the time of going to press, these firms had not finalised and audited their LLP accounts and these figures are subject to fluctuation. See the Legal Business 100 in September for the precise figures in home currency and year-on-year percentage changes.
- In June 2017 Norton Rose Fulbright and Chadbourne & Parke merged. The combined firm is represented here and year-on-year comparisons are not included in the main table.
- CMS – In May 2017, CMS Cameron McKenna merged with Nabarro and Olswang in the UK. The figures published here are for the entire CMS global operation, including the UK merger. As such year-on-year comparisons are not included.
- Eversheds Sutherland – In February 2017 Eversheds combined with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. The data shown here is based on global figures for the combined firm, as such year-on-year comparisons are not included.
- Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner – In April 2018 Bryan Cave merged with Berwin Leighton Paisner. Data in
this report refers to legacy Bryan Cave only. - Hunton Andrews Kurth – In April 2018 Andrews Kurth Kenyon and Hunton & Williams merged to form Hunton Andrews Kurth. Data in this report refers to legacy Hunton & Williams only.