Magic Circle's US push shows up in the numbers

The US is continuing to play a larger role in the Magic Circle’s revenue mix. 

Freshfields, Clifford Chance, A&O Shearman and Linklaters all saw their American revenues rise year on year, with the US also gaining a greater share of total firm turnover, according to their latest accounts.

US revenue growth has been a key strategic focus of much of the UK elite in recent years. The market offers premium pricing and deeper client spend than most other jurisdictions, giving firms more room to grow than in London or continental Europe. The rising US revenue share says as much about where firms see headroom as it does about prestige.

A&O post-merger

The most dramatic reweighting sits unsurprisingly with A&O Shearman. In its first set of financials after the 2024 merger between Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling, the firm reported US revenues of £707 million in 2024/25, making up 25% of total firm revenue.

That compares with a 13% US share the year before on a pre-merger basis, marking a sharp rebalancing stateside.

Freshfields’ organic growth

Freshfields reported US revenues of £473 million in 2024/25, up from £391 million the year before, lifting the US share of total turnover from 18% to 21%, about a fifth of global turnover. For context, that figure in dollars is roughly the equivalent of Cadwalader's firmwide revenue.

The firm's US momentum has continued into the current financial year, acting on home improvement giant Lowe’s $8.8 billion acquisition of a major building materials distributor and acting for Merck on its $10 billion acquisition of Verona Pharma. 

The firm has also been broadening its bench in Silicon Valley and opened a Boston office last year, its fourth US office.

The moves suggest the firm is approaching a level of scale in the US where it can consistently win significant, US-led mandates, lending weight to the aggressive lateral strategy it has pursued over the past five years to build a top-tier corporate practice.

Clifford Chance’s steady build

Clifford Chance’s Americas revenues increased to £385 million from £332 million, an increase of about 16%, with the US share of firmwide income rising from 15% to 16%. 

The increase points to a long-running, incremental strategy rather than a step change in approach - and expected given Clifford Chance's broader international focus. At 18%, its Asia-Pacific and Middle East revenues make up the largest share of total revenue of any Magic Circle firm. 

Linklaters’ smaller pie slice

Linklaters remains an outlier in terms of US exposure, with only 8% of its global turnover coming from the US, but momentum is evident. 

US revenues rose to £189 million from £149 million, nearly a 27% increase. The firm has been taking intentional steps to grow its stateside business, building out its US bench through lateral hiring and appointing George Casey as chairman of the Americas last year.

Increasingly essential

US revenues are no longer just additive to Magic Circle performance. As growth elsewhere moderates, the relative importance of the US is rising and becoming increasingly central to firmwide performance at a time when expansion in more established markets is harder to achieve.

Editor’s note: The revenue data shown is reported by firms on an Americas basis, which in most cases is predominantly attributable to the US.