Global 100 Overview: Spinning around

Posted on |
Global 100 Overview: Spinning around

The contrast between last year’s Global 100 report and this year’s could hardly be starker. Last year saw firms blow away even optimistic predictions to post extraordinary results. Total revenue increased by 15% to $147.5bn – more than double the previous year’s already impressive rise of 7%. Average profit per equity partner (PEP), meanwhile, shot up 19% to $2.37m.

This year, gross revenue increased by just 1% to hit $149.2bn, while average PEP dropped by 3% to $2.29m. Last year, we deemed a firm to be struggling in relative terms if it did not put both revenue and PEP up by 10% or more. This year, double-digit increases are far rarer: only eight firms increased revenue by 10% or more, and only two – Gibson Dunn (see analysis) and Polsinelli – managed double-digit increases in both revenue and PEP. Continue reading “Global 100 Overview: Spinning around”

Global 100: Gibson Dunn – A global outlook for an LA stalwart

Posted on |
Global 100: Gibson Dunn – A global outlook for an LA stalwart

‘We are in growth mode,’ announces Joshua Lipshutz, chief operating officer of Gibson Dunn, as he beams into the boardroom of the firm’s London office via Zoom. An apt statement for a firm that has stormed into the Global 100’s top ten in a year where many firms’ revenues have faltered.

Up four places from its position in 2022, the firm has achieved revenue of $2.74bn, marking a 10% increase from last year and a 67% increase over the past five years. This places the firm in its 27th year of consecutive revenue growth. PEP looks equally buoyant, with the firm seeing a respectable 11% increase to $4.92m.

Continue reading “Global 100: Gibson Dunn – A global outlook for an LA stalwart”

Global 100: White & Case: Global elite leader or missed opportunity?

Posted on |
Global 100: White & Case: Global elite leader or missed opportunity?

‘Our ability to pitch top-ranked teams under both New York and English law, and where needed under the local laws to back that up, remains our USP,’ asserts Oliver Brettle, White & Case’s vice chair, underscoring what sets the firm apart.

Unveiling subdued financials this cycle, the firm’s London arm experienced a modest 1% revenue growth to $451m, contrasting sharply with the 18% and 12% revenue upticks witnessed in 2020 and 2021. Global turnover was also muted, declining by 1% to $2.83bn. However, it still signifies a substantial 57% increase over five years and outperforms the figures observed among Magic Circle peers.

Continue reading “Global 100: White & Case: Global elite leader or missed opportunity?”

The Global 100 debate: Going hard and betting long

Posted on |
The Global 100 debate: Going hard and betting long

Nathalie Tidman, Legal Business: How have your businesses been performing over the last year? What have been the highlights?

Deborah Finkler, Slaughter and May: Remarkably well. I certainly think that we have all been holding our breath for the last two years for the downturn, which still has not entirely happened. The biggest issue we are facing is that we have a higher headcount than we had 18 months ago. You normally wait until things get difficult and then you think about how you are going to cope, but things are not difficult enough. One of the issues I have as a managing partner is persuading people that we need to be out pounding the pavements and getting more work, given that we never make people redundant. Continue reading “The Global 100 debate: Going hard and betting long”

Global 100 firms expand notably in core areas as Paul Weiss vs Kirkland rumbles on

Posted on |
Global 100 firms expand notably in core areas as Paul Weiss vs Kirkland rumbles on

The lateral hiring market in November was once again dominated by comings and goings between Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis, as well as big moves between Global 100 rivals in Europe.

Just when the market thought Paul Weiss had eased up on its hiring spree in the run-up to Christmas, the firm announced it had hired John Patten, a partner in the London technology and intellectual property (IP) transactions practice of Kirkland. Continue reading “Global 100 firms expand notably in core areas as Paul Weiss vs Kirkland rumbles on”