A guide to the law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (HSF Kramer) is a leading international law firm and one of the UK’s most prestigious firms.
It’s a member of the Silver Circle, the group of leading UK law firms that sits just behind the Magic Circle in terms of prestige, and is regarded by many in the industry as the most prestigious firm outside of the Magic Circle.
HSF was originally formed from the merger of City stalwart Herbert Smith and Australian firm Freehills in 2012. It combined Herbert Smith's strong UK and European presence with Freehills' leading position in the Asia-Pacific region (Freehills was considered one of the ‘Big Six’ Australian law firms) in a strategic move to create a global law firm capable of competing at the highest level internationally.
The combination brought together two firms with rich legacies and complementary strengths, and was emblematic of the trend towards globalisation in the legal industry, as firms sought to better serve clients with needs across multiple jurisdictions.
In a similar vein, Silver Circle rival Ashurst merged with Australian firm, and fellow ‘Big Six’ member, Blake Dawson in 2012, while Magic Circle firm Linklaters entered into a long-term strategic alliance with Allens in the same year. In summary, 2012 was a busy year for tie-ups between UK and Australian law firms!
Herbert Smith Freehills' merger was considered a success and the firm continued to perform strongly until its next move: a merger with US firm Kramer Levin. That tie-up officially went live in June 2025, creating HSF Kramer, a global player with more than $2 billion in annual revenue, 2,700 lawyers (including around 630 partners) and 26 offices worldwide.
The merger created the first truly transatlantic and transpacific law firm, combining HSF’s deep roots in the UK, Australia, Europe and Asia with Kramer Levin’s foothold in the US.
HSF Kramer is renowned for its market-leading litigation and disputes practice. The firm is frequently the go-to choice for complex, high-value legal disputes across multiple jurisdictions. It is also known for its strengths in corporate/M&A, energy, resources and infrastructure, and real estate.
HSF Kramer makes our ranking of the UK's most prestigious law firms.
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Recent deal and industry highlights for Herbert Smith Freehills (pre-merger) include:
AerCap in landmark aviation insurance claim: In June 2025, HSF Kramer advised AerCap, the world's largest aircraft owner, as lead claimant on a multi-party aviation insurance claim that, in total, was worth $4.7bn. It was one of the largest insurance claims in English legal history.
Marex New York IPO: In April 2024, HSF advised financial services platform Marex on its $292 million IPO on the Nasdaq exchange in the US.
Google Class Action: HSF is defending Google on a £7bn UK class action which accuses the tech giant of abusing its dominant position in the search engine market. The case is expected to be heard at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in 2025.
Advice to the Post Office: HSF played a significant (and somewhat controversial) role in the Post Office Horizon IT scandal - widely considered one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British legal history.
The firm was engaged by the Post Office in 2019 to assist with the group litigation brought by sub-postmasters who were wrongly accused of theft and fraud due to errors caused by the defective Horizon IT system. HSF also advised the Post Office on the subsequent compensation schemes and the public Horizon IT inquiry. It was revealed that HSF had earned £163 million in fees from the Post Office up to March 2024.
Sanctions fine: In March 2025, HSF was fined £465,000 for breaching UK sanctions on Russia. The breach related to "human error" payments made to sanctioned Russian banks as the firm was shutting down its Moscow office in May 2022.
*These events both happened before the merger that created HSF Kramer in June 2025.
HSF Kramer is a corporate law firm specialising in a broad range of practice areas. Its clients include companies, financial institutions and governments. It’s particularly known for its strengths in the following areas:
Litigation and Dispute Resolution: Its strongest card, HSF Kramer is globally acclaimed for its litigation and dispute resolution practice, including corporate litigation, arbitration, and mediation. It has a Band 1 ranking by Chambers for commercial litigation, as well as leading banking, competition and real estate litigation practices.
Energy, Resources, and Infrastructure: After litigation and disputes, HSF Kramer is probably best known for its work in the energy, resources, and infrastructure sectors, advising on some of the largest and most complex projects worldwide. The firm has a Band 1 ranking by Chambers for its oil & gas practice, and its power practice.
Real Estate: HSF Kramer has a market-leading real estate department, known for its expertise in all aspects of property work. It is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers for the highest-value real estate work.
Corporate/M&A: The firm’s corporate practice is well-regarded, advising on mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. It has a Band 3 ranking by Chambers for big-ticket M&A deals.
Capital Markets: HSF Kramer has long had a highly regarded debt and equity capital markets team. It has a Band 3 ranking by Chambers for its equity capital markets team, and a Band 4 ranking for its debt capital markets team. The firm is also strong in securitisations.
We use Chambers rankings to demonstrate a firm's strengths. Chambers is the most highly-regarded provider of law firm rankings in the legal industry. Law firms are ranked in bands from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest) across a range of practice areas.
It's important to note that being ranked in any band at all is still considered a significant achievement.
HSF Kramer is an 'upper mid-market' law firm, with a stand-out litigation practice. It primarily competes with the likes of Ashurst and Norton Rose Fulbright, but would be considered a worthy Magic Circle substitute on many matters.
Here’s what Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer pays its trainees and newly qualified (NQ) lawyers:
Trainee First Year: £56,000
Trainee Second Year: £61,000
Newly Qualified (NQ): £135,000
We have a list of salaries paid by all of the UK’s top law firms here.
HSF Kramer (pre-merger) is the 9th biggest law firm in the UK by revenue. In 2024, its revenue was £1.3 billion.
In 2024, its profit per equity partner (PEP) was £1.3 million.
In 2024, Herbert Smith Freehills’ average profit per equity partner (PEP) was £1.3 million.
This is the total amount of profit available for distribution among equity partners, divided by the number of equity partners at the firm.
This represents the average amount that equity partners are entitled to. Some will receive significantly more, some less. It depends on the firm’s profit-sharing formula and each partner’s seniority.
HSF Kramer takes on 65 trainees each year in the UK.
Trainees complete four seats in different departments, each lasting six months.
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