Founded in 1849 in Manhattan by a 21-year-old lawyer named Francis N. Bangs, Davis Polk is one of the original white-shoe Wall Street institutions — firms so old and so deeply embedded in American corporate history that their client relationships predate living memory. In the 19th century, partner Francis Stetson helped JP Morgan reshape the […]
While most aspiring City solicitors are sweating over their trainee apps from a hot-desk in a co-working space, Benito Mottoh decided to do it the old-school (and slightly mad) way: lacing up and running between the five Magic Circle giants. Coffee first, then 8km of suited-and-booted pavement-pounding from Clifford Chance in Canary Wharf to A&O
London Law Grad Runs the Magic Circle – Literally Read More »
In the rarefied atmosphere where partners measure success in eight-figure payouts and associates measure it in how many weekends they haven’t seen since the bar exam, one number looms above all others: profit per equity partner, or PEP.
PEP is the metric that makes managing partners beam, headhunters salivate, and mid-level associates stare at their billable hour trackers with a particular brand of existential dread.
The 2026 Am Law 100 rankings — reflecting 2025 fiscal performance — haven’t been formally published yet. But early reports are already in, and if you thought the 2025 numbers were eye-watering, with 4.6 trillion (that’s ‘illion’ with a ‘T’) brace yourself.
Kirkland & Ellis has become the first law firm in history to crack $10 billion in annual revenue, posting $10.56 billion for 2025 — up 20% year-on-year.
PEP at the Chicago colossus hit $11.1 million, also up approximately 20%. Since 2020, Kirkland’s average partner profits have risen 80%. Let that arithmetic sink in for a moment. A Kirkland equity partner today earns roughly what a senior Magic Circle partner in London earns in four years.
The PEP-Talk Numbers
In a bold lateral strike that underscores the fierce talent battle in Paris Big Law, Ropes & Gray has snapped up a high-powered eight-lawyer private equity and M&A group from rival Latham & Watkins.
The move, confirmed by multiple sources including The Lawyer andLaw.com International, brings three partners — Denis Criton, (pictured) Gaëtan Gianasso, and Michael Colle
Ropes & Gray Raids Latham & Watkins for Eight-Lawyer Paris PE/M&A Team Read More »
Article source: Rubin Glickman Steinberg & Gifford PC Every 15 seconds, someone in the United States files a car accident claim—yet according to the Insurance Information Institute, nearly 20% of these claims are denied or underpaid due to preventable mistakes made in the crucial hours following a crash. With average claim settlements ranging from $15,000
Car Accident Claims: Steps to Take Immediately for Success Read More »
The job cuts that sent 700 Baker McKenzie employees home in February has sent major ripples around law firms everywhere.
The cuts, affecting less than 10% of Baker McKenzie’s total support workforce, touched nearly every non-lawyer function across every office. This is the kind of story that makes managing partners and chief operating officers sit up straight, because it’s not about associate headcount or NQ retention. It’s about the infrastructure that keeps a modern firm running.
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Why Baker McKenzie’s Major Job Cuts Send Shivvers Down Lawyers’ Spines Read More »
A Georgia prosecutor is facing serious professional scrutiny after a court filing attributed to her office contained fabricated case citations, a hallmark of AI-generated “hallucinations”, in what has become one of the most-watched courtroom moments of the year. Deborah Leslie of the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office was publicly challenged during oral argument before the
Georgia Prosecutor’s AI Hallucination Moment Goes Viral — 5 Million Views and Counting Read More »
One of the most consequential law firm combinations of recent years came into effect on 1 June 2025, when Herbert Smith Freehills — itself the product of a transformative 2012 merger between London’s Herbert Smith and Australian powerhouse Freehills — merged with New York’s Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel to form Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
New global research from LEAP Legal Software’s Profitability in Law: Global Report 2026—surveying 700 legal professionals across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, the US, and Canada—lays it bare: 92% of Australian firms believe there’s strong potential to lift profitability. The catch? That upside is now tightly linked to how fast and how effectively firms
Legal AI Is The Profitability Divide Australian Firms Can No Longer Ignore Read More »
March 23, 2026: Following more than a decade of transformational leadership under Chair Jami McKeon, Morgan Lewis today announced that its partnership has unanimously elected David A. McManus as the next Chair of the firm for a five-year term starting on October 1, 2026. Mr. McManus will succeed Ms. McKeon, who has guided Morgan Lewis through a period
