The firms that appear in the 2023 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 2022 or 2022/23. Financial years differ – most end in December in the US and in April in the UK.
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. Firms with a † symbol next to their name chose not to provide any official financial information.
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. Firms have been asked for average 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. Fixed-share equity partners are considered non-equity partners for the purposes of this survey.
Non-equity partners
Non-equity partners, be they fixed-share equity, salaried, or laterals on probationary periods, are those who 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 whole number of full-equity partners (where applicable) at the end of the last financial year. PEP is an average figure used to benchmark the profitability of firms, which is not necessarily the same as saying that any partners take home this amount of money.
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 2018-23
This figure is a straight percentage increase in revenue between the 2018 Global 100 report and the 2023 Global 100 report.
Exchange rates
We have used annual average exchange rates for 2022 given by the US Federal Reserve for any currency conversions.
- £1 equals $1.2371
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 (see box, ‘The currency effect’).
Return to the Global 100 contents.
Footnotes
1. Baker McKenzie has a different year end to most Global 100 firms. Figures included here apply to the year ending 30 June 2023.
2. Eversheds Sutherland – while turnover figures are global, PEP calculations are based on Eversheds Sutherland International LLP only.
3. Kim & Chang – although the main table shows a decrease in revenue in US dollars for this firm, revenue increased 5% in Korean Won terms. Using the yearly average KRW/USD conversion rate published by the US Federal Reserve (KRW 1291.7796 for 2022), the firm’s 2022 revenue in KRW terms is approximately ₩1,343bn. The firm’s KRW revenue in 2021 applying the same principal was roughly ₩1,276bn. Hence revenue increased by 5% in 2022 compared to 2021.
4. Clyde & Co – in July 2022, the agreed merger between Clyde & Co and BLM went live. The numbers in this report are for the combined firm.