CRA International (Charles River Associates) reported record Q1 fiscal 2026 revenue of $201 million, up 10.5% year-over-year — the highest quarterly revenue in the company's history. Legal and regulatory services revenue increased 11.5%, mirroring an 8% rise in total case filings and a 13% increase in court judgments over the same period. Four practices posted double-digit growth: Energy, Finance,
UK and global mid-market firms posted broadly strong full-year results this week. Dentons' UK, Ireland and Middle East arm grew revenue 10% to £336 million — a firm that has grown more than 50% since Paul Jarvis became CEO in 2021, driven by restructuring, regulatory, investigations and banking work. Withers lifted profit per equity partner 26.2% to £903,000 on a 10% revenue rise. Mills & Reeve cr
The Am Law 100 delivered its strongest financial year on record in 2025: gross revenue rose 13% to just under $179 billion; average profit per equity partner climbed 14% to $3.59 million; Kirkland & Ellis became the first law firm in history to exceed $10 billion in annual revenue, with equity partners averaging approximately $11.1 million; Wachtell Lipton partners averaged $12.15 million; 62 firm
Thomson Reuters Q1 2026 earnings (reported July 29) show the Legal Professionals segment at 9% organic revenue growth; excluding government, growth accelerated to 11%, "driven by law firm momentum." Westlaw Advantage and CoCounsel adoption is running "faster than historical product adoption rates." The TR data point matters for firm-level economics because TR is a leading indicator: when firms are
Unbiased Consulting's mid-law analysis (July 24) puts the strongest-performing segment of the US legal market in full view: mid-law firms (outside the Am Law 100) posted revenue growth of over 13% in Q1 2026, with billing rates up 11.4%. Fairfax Associates' Kristin Stark described "a strong pipeline of work and solid collections year to date" — with the caveat that collections are stretching, as c
Legal Business (July 24) reported global M&A activity totaling $2.85 trillion in H1 2026 — the strongest first half since records began, with Kirkland, Wachtell, and Skadden topping deal rankings. The headline is significant for firms outside the elite: demand for high-complexity cross-border M&A counsel is running at a structural high, and the work is concentrating at a small number of platforms.
Clifford Chance reported revenue of £2.6bn (+9%), partnership profit of £1.05bn (+11%), and PEP of £2.3M (+9%) — its first-ever £1bn+ profit year. Since FY23, the firm has added £638M in revenue and £295M in profit, including a 65% increase in US revenue. Linklaters followed on July 21: revenue £2.47bn (+6.8%), pre-tax profit £1.2bn (+11.6%), PEP £2.48M (+11.4%), marking a third consecutive year o
Thomson Reuters' 2026 State of Corporate Law Department Report found worked billing rates rose 7.4% year-over-year in Q2 2025, with profits per lawyer up 8% and PEP up 12%. Yet CLOC's 2026 State of Industry survey found only 37% of in-house departments expect outside counsel spend to increase — down from 58% the prior year. The gap is not accidental. As one commentator put it: "If work that once t
LawVision's flash survey of 80 law firm leaders (July 21) found 44% reported 2026 rate increases of 6–9%, with 27% exceeding 10% and 59% expecting trends to hold through FY2027. Demand is most favorable in Commercial Litigation (67% bullish), Corporate Litigation (64%), Privacy & Data Security (62%), Energy & Infrastructure, and Regulatory & Public Policy. The survey also surfaced structural prici
The 8am SMB Law Financial Health Report (April 2024–March 2026, several million bills analyzed) and Wells Fargo's Legal Specialty Group Q1 2026 data paint a consistent picture of near-term revenue health driven by rate rather than volume growth. At the SMB level, billed hours per case rose 3–7% in most tracked practice areas, 32% in bankruptcy — with immigration the only exception. Billed dollars
Sonder Consultants' H1 2026 US Legal Market Report — published July 14 — found that corporate partner moves increased 12.4% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, making corporate the fastest-growing major practice area by lateral movement. The drivers are M&A activity, continued private equity capital deployment, improving financing conditions, and demand in technology transactions and capital m
Robert Half's Demand for Skilled Talent report (Q3 2026 edition) found that legal hiring plans remain robust despite moderation from 2025 peaks: 58% of legal leaders plan to add new permanent employees in the second half of 2026, while 51% expect to increase their use of contract talent — a dual-track strategy that mirrors broader professional services firms seeking flexibility. The 159,600 job po
The 2026 Am Law 200 rankings, based on 2025 financial results, show the historical gap between the largest firms and the "Second Hundred" widening again after a brief narrowing in 2024. Second Hundred firms posted 6% revenue growth, 5.2% revenue-per-lawyer growth, and 9.5% profits-per-equity-partner growth in 2025 — all trailing the Am Law 100's 13%, 8.7%, and 14% respective gains. Analysts attrib
UK national firm Clarke Willmott reported revenue exceeding £68 million for the year, extending a run of growth as it nears the end of a three-year strategic plan, and reinforcing that regional and mid-market UK firms are still capturing demand even as headline commentary focuses on BigLaw. The firm credits strong performance across its core practice lines for keeping it on pace to hit its strateg
The top 200 U.S. law firms closed 2025 with revenue growth of 12.6%, matching 2024's pace, according to a Wells Fargo Legal Specialty Group analysis. Average standard billing rates grew 9.6%, while demand — measured by billable hours — rose 3.5%. The Second Hundred specifically posted $29.4 billion in total revenue, with revenue per lawyer (RPL) reaching $895,000, up 5.2% year-over-year. Demand wa
The 2026 ACC Law Department Management Benchmarking Report found median global corporate legal spend as a percentage of revenue dropped to 0.43% from 0.53% — the lowest in six years. At the same time, each in-house lawyer now supports a median of 367 employees (up from 300 in 2021), and the ratio of lawyers per $1 billion in revenue fell to 3.0 from 3.6–4.2 over the prior five years. Outside couns