UK: City law firms top £1m average partner pay after strong revenue growth

Addleshaw Goddard, the UK’s eleventh highest-grossing law firm, increased annual revenue by 17 per cent to £644m. Profit also rose 17 per cent to £262m, lifting average profit per full equity partner above £1m.

Simmons & Simmons reported revenue of £690m, up 12 per cent, while profit climbed 14 per cent to £245m. Average equity partner pay increased by 11 per cent to £1.25m.

Addleshaw Goddard, which traces its origins to Manchester and Leeds before expanding into the City through its 2003 merger with Theodore Goddard, also announced an eight per cent increase in its partnership to 479 lawyers and opened a new Amsterdam office with 17 partners. In June, it advised JP Morgan on the financing of Ingredion Incorporated’s £2.74 billion acquisition of Tate & Lyle’s UK food business.

Founded in the City 130 years ago, Simmons & Simmons now has more than 350 partners across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the US. Last month it advised Standard Chartered Bank on a £145m financing deal for Kazakhstan’s national railway operator.

The results come ahead of annual financial announcements from magic circle firms A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance and Linklaters. In 2025, A&O Shearman reported revenue of £2.9bn and average partner pay of £2m. Clifford Chance posted revenue of £2.4bn with average partner pay of £2.1m, while Linklaters recorded revenue of £2.3bn and average partner pay of £2.2m.

Freshfields no longer takes part in the annual round of public financial announcements after deciding three years ago to opt out. However, as an LLP it must still file accounts at Companies House, the most recent of which showed annual revenue of £2.25bn and average partner pay of about £2m.