Magic Circle: Clifford Chance partner takes home record £3.2m earnings
Clifford Chance’s highest earning lawyer took home more than £3m in earnings last year, as firms battle it out for the best pay.
The Magic Circle law firm confirmed in July that the average take-home for full equity partners has jumped nine per cent to £1.85m each over the last 12 months.
Fellow City law firm Simmons & Simmons hiked its base salary for junior lawyers to £100k in late December, marking a £12,000 increase, as the trend looks set to roll into the new year.
Alongside the series of pay hikes amid a restricted labour market, there has been a boom in City deal making in the past year which has spurred demand for professional advisers, The Telegraph reported.
Clifford Chance’s revenues from corporate clients swelled to more than £600m in the year to April, up from £544m in 2020 – paving the way for loftier earnings for its more senior staff.
The City firm also secured the advisory deal with the European Super League last year, before it was scrapped amid controversy, which landed Clifford Chance a £2m payday.
The firm also advised JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank, as well as private equity giant CVC Capital Partners over the past year.
Despite the success of City M&A, Clifford Chance’s total revenue rose just one per cent to £1.8bn.