News
Global client demand drives further growth
- Financial year ending 30 April 2023 sees revenue increase 8 per cent to £1.84 billion
- Profit per equity partner rises 1 per cent to £2.09 million
Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) reports its seventh consecutive period of revenue growth for the year ending 30 April 2023, endorsing an ambitious global growth strategy that is delivering strong performance across the entire firm.
Freshfields Senior Partner Georgia Dawson commented: “We have a global growth strategy that puts the U.S. at the heart of the firm alongside our leading European, Asia and MENA businesses. It provides a unique global offering for our clients that sees them turn to us for their most strategic matters crossing practices and borders. Everything we are doing is driven by what our clients need in a rapidly changing world.
“Our efforts to deliver on this strategy have seen ongoing investment in diverse talent, including through lateral hires and partner promotions, while evolving our operating model and investing in technology to deliver a firm of the future. As the financial performance announced today demonstrates, it’s a strategy that’s working.”
Key highlights from the 2022/23 financial year:
- Delivered outstanding results for clients, advising on several landmark, cross-border matters, including:
- Advising UBS Group AG on its acquisition of Credit Suisse Group AG, reinforcing UBS’s position as the leading universal bank in Switzerland
- Independent directors of Qualtrics on its $12.5bn sale of the company, the largest PE Buyout to date in 2023
- Lead counsel defending Google in In re Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation – a multi-district litigation brought by the attorneys general of 17 US states and territories – and in a separate action brought by the US DOJ in the Eastern District of Virginia
- Advising Volkswagen and subsidiaries on its global emissions litigation, representing them in several dozen countries
- The firm published its second diversity and inclusion annual review to share progress on its five-year global targets and commitments, with highlights including:
- 48 per cent of new partners joining the global partnership were women
- In the U.S., over the last 18 months, more than 60 per cent of lateral partner hires were diverse*
- Doubling the number of Black associates at the firm in two years
- Celebrating 10th anniversary of Freshfields' Stephen Lawrence Scholarship Scheme - aimed at addressing under-representation of Black men from less socially mobile backgrounds in large commercial law firms and other institutions in London
- 5 per cent LGBTQ+ global partnership target achieved three years ahead of schedule
- Launching the Future Leaders Program complete with training, sponsorship and coaching to advance talent globally
- The firm performed more than 80,000 hours of pro bono client work globally, including:
- Providing pro bono legal advice to Ukraine as it establishes a development fund to attract public and private sector capital for the future reconstruction and recovery of its economy, and providing a pro bono partner secondment to NGO Safe Ukraine 2030
- Acting for the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales to spinout the Earthshot Prize as an independent charity
- A cross-border team supporting a group of developing countries in the final stages of negotiations over a proposed new treaty to protect marine biodiversity in the high seas – with The United Nations Member States reaching an historic deal
- Developing innovative internal global training modules on the topic of ‘Trauma-informed client care’ - available to Freshfields lawyers who provide pro bono advice to individuals who may have experienced trauma.
- Freshfields affirmed its commitment to ambitious climate action by:
- Publishing externally approved science-based targets (SBTs) - an important step on the firm’s journey towards a net zero carbon future
- The firm has been carbon neutral since 2007, and continues to offset its emissions through our flagship reforestation project – Freshfields REAP
- The firm has returned strong financial performance, with all key metrics up, while consistently investing in the firm’s talent and operating model to build a firm of the future:
- Freshfields increases operational efficiency through best-in-class technologies; for example, the firm is the only large international law firm to have embedded Salesforce
- Investing in the future and responding to client demand by growing partner ranks with 26 new lateral appointments and 30 internal partner promotions in the last 15 months
- Strategic investment in an additional shared service centre in Bratislava
- Freshfields’ U.S. growth ambitions and strong presence has delivered:
- A full-service global offering to clients on big-ticket transactions and in complementary areas including antitrust, regulation and FDI, and risk and crisis management
- Advisory services to 70 per cent of the S&P 1,000 largest US corporates over the past three years in the US and/or globally.
- In the last 12 months, 14 lateral partner appointments in the U.S. across finance, financial regulatory, antitrust litigation, strategic risk and crisis management
- Freshfields is recognised at the top of global legal industry rankings across practices and jurisdictions that matter to clients:
- The only firm ranked by Chambers as Global Band 1 simultaneously in 2023 across Corporate/M&A, Competition/Antitrust, Dispute Resolution, International Arbitration, Public International Law and Tax
- Global Chambers rankings: 113 Band 1 Rankings in all current Chambers Guides worldwide
- In the U.S., Freshfields is the only firm with two new M&A The Elite rankings for U.S. Nationwide and New York, and achieved 16 department and 45 lawyer rankings
Freshfields Managing Partner Rick van Aerssen commented: “We’re proud to grow our business across all key financial metrics, while making considerable investment in the future of the firm. Our ongoing success is due to the dedication of colleagues around the world, who are leading in vital areas such as litigation, M&A and regulatory. Importantly for our firm, it’s vital that our pro bono work is as groundbreaking and robust as everything we do, and we thank our team for their considerable commitment to assist others again this year. We look forward to making further strides in the coming months.
“As we assess our financial reporting in line with our global peer group, from next year onwards, we will not be releasing financial information to media at this point in the year. All financial information which we must release as a matter of law will continue to be available via Companies House in the usual way. We consider the real sign of the firm’s progress to be based on the quality of business we’ve built and the client mandates we’re winning around the globe.”
Notes to editors
*Includes women as well as racially/ethnically diverse, LGBTQ+ and disabled individuals
