Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy have both rebounded from a weak 2012/13 with record financial results.

Last year Clifford Chance suffered a 2% drop in revenue, a 6% drop in profit and a 9% drop in PEP ("cancel Ocado darling, I've only pulled in £1 million"). But the decline has had the positive effect of making this year's announcement sound much more impressive. Even so, the increase of partnership profit by 14% and PEP by 16% is sizeable. The Magic Circle firm also earned a record £1.36 billion in revenues, which equates to a considerable number of 6 minute units.



A CC associate celebrates the economic recovery

Allen & Overy also announced record revenue and emphasised its consistent growth over the last five years, in contrast to *coughCliffordChancecough* no-one in particular. Although 2012/13, in which PEP froze and revenue increased by 0.6%, was not a vintage year for A&O, either.

RollOnFriday's stat-gimp compiled the following easy to read table of cash:

  Revenue
2013/14

Revenue 2012/13
UK Partnership profit 2013/14
UK Partnership Profit 2012/13
PEP 2013/14
PEP 2012/13
Clifford Chance
 £1,359m
 £1,271m
 £459m
 £404m
 £1.14m
 £1.00m
Allen & Overy
 £1,230m
 £1,190m
 £532m
 £497m
 £1.12m
 £1.05m

Clifford Chance Managing Partner Matthew Layton put the improved results down to "a definite uptick in transactional markets we saw starting in the US over a year ago". A&O Global Managing Partner Wim Dejonghe also credited the economy, and added that off-shoring work to Belfast was paying off (after a poor start).

He added that the firm's good fortune "is down to one factor more than anything else – our people". Aww, really? That will cheer up his associates, some of whom are apparently annoyed at not getting a pay rise.
 
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Comments

Anonymous 04 July 14 14:09

You need to analyse the numbers to understand the PEP jump at CC. It also reflects a big cut in the number of equity partners...

Anonymous 05 July 14 00:15

Interesting you should say that Dogwarden.

My experience at A&O was that there was something a teensy bit cultish about the place. They had convinced themselves that it was a great place to work when in fact it was the same as any other city law firm (albeit with a very well equipped gym and a large cafeteria).

My experience, having worked at a couple of MC firms and several other Silver Circles too is that there are much friendlier and more pleasant law firms in the City.

Anonymous 09 July 14 20:46

What anon @23:15 said, and the effects last even after they've shifted in-house for some. Never met people who believed their own hype so much.