Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance Profile & Stats

Clifford Chance is arguably the largest law firm both in the UK and globally, and perhaps the best-known legal brand in the City. The firm employs 3,400 lawyers, with a total of 6,000 staff across 32 offices worldwide. Although best known for its finance department, the past decade has seen the firm’s corporate practice rise to prominence, and in 2006, Clifford Chance became the first law firm to generate revenues totalling over £1 billion.

The origins of Clifford Chance can be traced back to the 1800s, but it was the merger of two London firms in 1987, Coward Chance and Clifford Turner, that created the firm as it is today. This union singlehandedly transformed London’s legal landscape. The alliance created a full-service giant twice the size of the next largest firm and enabled Clifford Chance to expand internationally. Headquartered in London, the structure of the firm was transformed in the 1990s by managing partner Geoffrey Howe, shifting to a more centralised management with less partner independence. In 2000, it merged again, with German firm, Punder Volhard Weber & Axster, and Rogers & Wells from New York, making Clifford Chance the largest firm in the world.

Clifford Chance has two US offices, New York and Washington DC, and many more across Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East. The recent focus of the firm’s international operations is towards the emerging markets, namely China, India, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In China the firm has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as in Hong Kong. In the Middle East, Clifford Chance has opened outposts in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and most recently the firm opened an office in Istanbul in April 2011. Additionally, a capital markets group was formed in Singapore in 2008, to focus on the firm's Indian clients.

Although Clifford Chance is best known as a top banking and finance firm, revered for its work in banking with top financial institutions, it has more than just fiscal strings to its mighty bow. The firm's operations are broken into six global practice areas: banking and finance, capital markets, corporate/M&A, litigation and dispute resolution, real estate and tax, pensions and employment. In corporate, Clifford Chance is one of the best firms for private equity work, dispute resolution and real estate, in addition to excelling in M&A. Corporate clients include the Canary Wharf Group, Siemens, Shell, Barclays, Merrill Lynch and UBS.

The firm takes diversity seriously and because it has a strong international reach, that filters down into recruiting. Women, minorities and LGBT groups are all well represented and employees remark that as long as you can handle the work, no one cares about colour, background, or sexual orientation.

Clifford Chance also strongly encourages pro bono work and represents individuals, NGOs and charities to ensure that everyone has access to justice, finance, and education. Employees at Clifford Chance are given ten hours a year for community initiatives and can participate in drop-in legal clinics and literacy schemes, helping children with special needs and aiding young refugees.