Browne Jacobson has posted record revenues of £148.8m after a year that saw the firm invest heavily in AI, expand into Northern Ireland and continue its push in London.
The figure marks a 9% increase on last year’s £137m turnover, and excludes any contribution from Browne Jacobson Northern Ireland, the rebranded £5.5m-turnover Belfast practice of legacy Davidson McDonnell, which joined the firm in May 2026.
Managing partner Richard Medd (pictured) described the revenue increase as ‘really solid growth’, adding: ‘We’ve also been able to push forward this year with a number of investments across technology, property and people, and still deliver that growth, which I’m absolutely delighted about.’
Chief financial officer Andy Stephens emphasised that the firm’s performance looked strong beneath the headline figures as well: ‘This is good, core, profitable, sustainable growth. It’s cash-positive, and the underlying financials are really strong, which is what keeps me happy as CFO.’
Medd added that growth had come across all of the firm’s key sectors and offices, singling out the education practice as one that had seen ‘significant growth.’ Geographically, he said the firm’s newer offices, including Dublin, which opened in 2022, and Cardiff, which opened in 2023, had delivered significant growth, albeit from smaller bases than the firm’s more established locations.
Medd also highlighted London as an area of investment, saying the firm remained ‘underpowered’ in the City relative to its overall scale and reputation. Six of the 13 lateral hires the firm has made this year have joined the London office.
‘We’ve brought in partners across tech disputes and real estate, all growth areas, to really help push the London practice on,’ he said.
He added that there is further opportunity to grow the London private equity offering and support private-equity-backed clients, as ‘our national reputation and experience in private equity is so strong’.
Stephens said the firm would also be looking to increase headcount in Cardiff and Manchester following property investments in both cities, ‘We’re not maintaining those as empty offices,’ he said. ‘We need to build out and grow them as well.’
Highlights during the year included advising SKIMS on its Regent Street flagship store, the Office for Life Sciences on the £85m Eli Lilly obesity programme, and the Welsh Government on Morlais, Europe’s largest tidal energy project.
The firm also acted on the merger creating the East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust and advised Homes England on regeneration schemes including the former Colman’s Mustard factory site in Norwich.
Another milestone has been the firmwide rollout of Legora, something Medd believes will prove to be a ‘pivotal moment’ for the firm after seeing ‘huge engagement across the business.’
Stephens added that Legora is being used for governance and finance functions as well as legal work, saying that most of his days begin with a quick conversation with the platform.
The firm also saw commercial contracts and trade disputes lawyer Jonathan Tardif replace Caroline Green as senior partner after her seven-year stint in the role. Medd, who has recently entered the final year of his current term, said he is looking forward to working alongside Tardif. ‘He’ll bring super value to the firm and help us move forward to the next stage in our growth,’ he said.
The firm further cemented its role as a UK legal leader in social mobility after ranking first overall in the Social Mobility Foundation’s Employer Index 2025 for the fourth time in five years.
Medd said the achievement is a source of pride across the firm, noting: ‘We have buy-in at every level, from hard-nosed corporate lawyers to experienced public sector lawyers.’
During Medd’s tenure, the firm has almost doubled in size, growing to this year’s £148.8m from £77.6m in financial year 2018-19, the firm’s last full year before Medd became managing partner in November 2019. Despite that expansion, he said Browne Jacobson’s culture remains intact.
‘We’re down to earth, we’re fair, we’re ambitious. Those are all really positive qualities that we’ve managed to preserve across the firm,’ he said.
