Clifford Chance

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Clifford Chance LLP
Type of Company	Limited liability partnership
Founded	London (1999)
Headquarters	London with 29 other offices worldwide
Industry	Law
Products	Legal advice
Employees	7,006
Website	www.cliffordchance.com

Clifford Chance LLP has a reputation of being the world's leading law firm. A component of England's "Magic Circle", it is an international practice with its principal office at Canary Wharf in London.

[edit] Profile

Clifford Chance is the largest law firm in the world by revenue, becoming the world's first billion-dollar business firm (and the biggest billing law firm ever) in 2006, registering record revenues of $2.039 billion, with partners sharing a profit of $660 million [1]. In the same year, Clifford Chance topped three tables for worldwide M&A, advising on 444 deals globally which were valued at a total of $490 billion, and was named Law Firm of the Year at The Lawyer Awards held in London on June 27, 2006 [2].

The firm is also the world's largest by number of lawyers: as of July 2006 it employed 3,503 fee-earners/lawyers (including 607 partners) and 3,740 non-legal staff. It has twenty-nine offices spread across 19 countries in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. London employees enjoy a range of perks in the firm's award-winning 32 floor storey Canary Wharf tower including free use of a large gymnasium which boasts a swimming pool, squash courts and aerobics studios, beauty parlour, medical centre, dentist, hair salon, restaurant, take-away delicatessen, coffee and juice bars and a post office.

In 2002, the firm was infamously ranked last in associate satisfaction in The American Lawyer's annual associate survey.[3]. Several associates on the firm's personnel committee then drafted a scathing memorandum outlining their complaints, which was ultimately circulated on the internet.[4]. Managing Partner at the time, Peter Cornell, relocated to New York to address many of the concerns mentioned in the memo: as a result the flow of departures was halted, and the firm actually began attracting lateral hires.

Since May 1, 2006, David Childs has been Global Managing Partner of Clifford Chance. Childs took over the role from Peter Cornell for a four-year term. Childs was previously global head of the firm's corporate practice and Global Chief Operating Officer since late 2003. In 2005 he announced his stepping-down from the head of corporate role so that he could concentrate on his global leadership role in the firm, combined with a lead role in major transactions for his clients.

[edit] History

Clifford Chance's origins date back to 1802 [5]. With the merger of the leading City law firms Clifford Turner and Coward Chance in 1987, Clifford Chance was formed and and thrust into the Magic Circle. Over the next decade, the firm built its practices across Europe and Asia, more than doubling in size. Recognizing the importance of a US law capability, the firm established its New York practice in 1986 and in 1992 became the first major non-US firm to practise US law. Clifford Chance is also a New York state registered limited liability partnership.

In 1999, Clifford Chance merged with one of the largest and most successful German firms, the Frankfurt-based Pünder, Volhard, Weber & Axster, and also with the 1871-established American firm Rogers & Wells. (The use of the Pünder, Volhard, Weber & Axster and Rogers & Wells branding for those European and American regional offices was discontinued in 2003.) By the end of the twentieth century, Clifford Chance had more lawyers around the world than in the UK. On the back of these successful expansions, its deals and awards through the last decade, Clifford Chance has begun to attract a reputation of being the world's leading international law firm.