Publications

Last year was a good year for Clifford Chance. We have ambitious goals and a solid strategy that is bringing results. In a period of unprecedented change for our clients, we are open‑minded in envisaging the future and flexible in adapting to meet it.

We have made important investments over the past few years in our global network, our people, and our processes. These have all been designed to ensure that we remain at the forefront of the world’s legal elite, working with the best clients on the most interesting, complex and demanding mandates. As a result, despite the continued lower levels of corporate and financial activity in the world’s most established legal markets, Clifford Chance found itself in growth mode again, with both revenues and profitability improving.

Beyond our robust finances, last year was a year of considerable strategic progress as we showed our ability as a firm to anticipate and respond to the changed landscape in which we, and our clients, operate:

A world of opportunity: the scale and complexity of opportunities continues to increase – driven by rapid economic growth in some parts of the world, continuing uncertainty in others, and rapid regulatory expansion almost everywhere. Last year we advised on the creation of the €440 billion European Financial Stability Facility: our largest-ever transaction, possibly the largest anywhere. In the equity markets we advised the underwriters on Glencore’s groundbreaking Hong Kong/London dual flotation. This was Europe’s largest-ever non‑privatisation IPO, and a good example of how clients around the world are tapping into the opportunities presented by the growth markets.

A two-speed world, as our revenues demonstrate. Last year they grew 17% in the Middle East and 16% in Asia Pacific, and forged ahead in Latin America and Africa. In the US, UK and Europe our progress was more sedate, reflecting the more uncertain economic environment. We have been rebalancing the firm accordingly, with a target to double our Asia Pacific and Middle East revenues by 2014. In the meantime, we continue to invest in the US and European markets, which remain critically important to our firm and to our clients.

A sea of change. That’s how we view the tidal wave of proposed new regulation, especially in the US and Europe. The scale and complexity of the legislation and the increasingly aggressive stance of regulators are creating fundamental shifts in the operating environment for financial institutions and, indeed, for any other commercial entity seeking to access capital. Our leading position in international financial regulatory matters means we are able to mobilise teams to work with clients at the highest level, to unpick the implications and to help them adapt their businesses to meet the new demands they face.

A redrawn map of trading routes. Trade and capital flows are changing fundamentally. Increasingly, growth economies are dealing directly with one another in transactions that bypass traditional financial centres such as London and New York. The world’s largest IPO market is now Hong Kong. Shanghai, Beijing, Moscow, Dubai and Qatar have all staked their claims for prominence on the new capital trade routes. South-to-south trade is expanding fast. Our vast cross‑border expertise and well‑established track-record in Asia have ensured that clients continue to turn to us for advice on these transactions, whether they involve Brazilian and Asian clients moving into Africa or fast growing African clients expanding regionally and beyond.

Investing in evolution

Law firms tend to treat change with caution. But to support our clients in this new world, we have to be both bold and nimble.

We have continued to invest in being in the right places. Last year we opened new offices in Qatar and Turkey, expanded by merger in Australia and strengthened our capabilities in Latin America and Africa.

We are becoming more diverse, less weighted towards our traditional ‘home’ markets. More than half the 23 people we promoted to partner last year are based in Asia – nine of them in Greater China. Our nine high-profile lateral hires included new partners in China and Singapore.

This matters because 37 of our largest clients worked with 20 or more Clifford Chance offices last year – up from 23 four years earlier. They want to know that every office can deliver strong local knowledge and networks, coupled with international perspectives, and the very best legal advice.
We are investing heavily in training to keep all our lawyers up to speed in a time of rapid change.

Diversity is not just about our international make-up. To be successful, we need to draw on the very best talent available; and that means improving the gender balance of our partnership. This year we were very pleased that 30% of our newly promoted partners were female. As our ambition is that women should make up at least 30% of our partnership, this was a good step forward. But we cannot afford to be complacent and we continue to put significant focus on achieving this ambition.

Structuring to deliver quality

To serve clients consistently well, everywhere, we must play as one team. We are proud to be a single profit-pool firm, with partners incentivised on the same basis across all our offices and product groups worldwide. We believe this financial integration is the only way to build an international firm of top-tier quality. The 2011 Chambers Directory rankings bear this out: we dominated the global tables, with one-third more tier one rankings than the second-placed firm.

Innovating to deliver efficiency and value

Quality is not incompatible with efficiency or value. Four years ago we raised eyebrows by opening a service centre outside Delhi. Today it is a proven resource. Clients value its contribution to cost-effective service, and some 13% of our business services staff now work there.

Outlook

The new world emerging from the financial crisis presents huge opportunities for our clients, and for us. Through promotions, lateral hires and mergers we added 46 new partners last year: clear evidence of our confidence in the future. The firm is stronger than it was before the crisis, with a broader client base and a better balance between advisory and transaction work. We thank everyone who has helped to make this possible: our clients, for whom we remain as ambitious as ever, and our staff and partners.

 

Download Full Report