Macfarlanes has done it. Average pay for full-equity partners at the elite City firm has risen 8% to £3.1 million, smashing through the £3 million mark and leaving its larger Magic Circle rivals trailing by roughly a million pounds each.
Turnover climbed more than 10% to £371.4 million, generating operating profit of £206.5 million. The numbers land just as Linklaters became the first of the Magic Circle four to report, posting average partner pay of £2.2 million after a 15% jump.
On last year’s figures, that puts Linklaters roughly level with A&O Shearman, with Freshfields at £2.1 million and Clifford Chance at £2 million. Slaughter and May, still a traditional partnership and therefore silent on the numbers, is widely thought to sit higher still, in the £3.5–£4 million range.
This is the same story LawFuel flagged earlier: Macfarlanes Hits £3.1m PEP, proof that staying small can beat the Magic Circle at its own game.
While the big international firms chase global scale and new offices in far-flung markets, Macfarlanes has stuck to its private-client and tax strengths, stayed lean, and delivered the kind of profitability that makes larger rivals look overstretched.
Senior partner Sebastian Prichard Jones (pictured, left) pointed to concern over the incoming Labour government’s fiscal plans as a key driver behind a “standout performance” from those private-client and tax practices.
The timing also feeds wider debate. Partner pay across elite City firms looks set to rise well above the latest UK inflation figure of 3.6%. Critics, including a senior costs lawyer earlier this year, have already called City fees “totally out of control,” with some charging up to £1,600 an hour. Junior pay is under scrutiny too: newly qualifieds at US firms in London can start at £180,000, while Linklaters and Macfarlanes sit a notch lower at £150,000 and £140,000.
Linklaters itself had a strong year, with revenue past £2.3 billion (up 11%) and pre-tax profit of £1.08 billion – the first time it has broken the £1 billion profit barrier. Its US practice surged 57%, including work on the Cadillac Formula 1 team deal.
For Macfarlanes, the message remains consistent, namely that tight focus beats empire-building. The firm that specialises in serving the super-wealthy has once again shown that staying relatively small and sharp can deliver partner earnings the Magic Circle can only envy.
