Vanessa Pawsey
French firms post record figures; accountancy-tied firms are the ones to watch
The french legal market has had a record year, with turnover for the top 100 firms in France up by 24 per cent to nearly FFr12bn (£1.16bn).
Last year, 18 per cent of firms made between FFr100m (£9.63m) and FFr200m (£19.26m), this year that figure rose to 23 per cent.
Fidal is the largest firm, with 1,206 fee-earners, nearly twice the number in the second largest firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers' affiliated French firm Landwell. This year, Fidal's turnover was FFr1.374bn (£132.34m), while Landwell's was FFr768m (£73.97m).
Accountancy-tied firms HSD Ernst & Young and Andersen Legal came in third and fourth position with turnovers of FFr626m (£60.3m) and FFr608m (£58.56m) respectively. Gide Loyrette Nouel also had a good year, making FFr552.8m (£53.25m) in France.
UK firms Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters & Alliance all came in the top 10.
Deloitte & Touche did not do particularly well, and despite being France's seventh largest firm, it came tenth in respect of turnover.
The survey, published by Paris-based newsletter Juristes Associés also revealed that French law firms are growing rapidly, with 29 per cent housing between 51 and 100 fee-earners, compared with 25 per cent last year.
It also reiterated the importance of the big five accountancy-tied firms, which it claimed accounted for 56 per cent of fee-earners.
And globalisation was key, with 73 per cent of French firms having a global affiliation or network, compared with only 59 per cent last year.
| Top 15 law firms in France (by number of fee-earners) |
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| Rank | Law firm | No of fee-earners | No of partners | Total staff |
| 1 | Fidal | 1,206 | 345 | 2,109 |
| 2 | Landwell & Associés | 607 | 69 | 787 |
| 3 | HSD Ernst & Young | 526 | 62 | 713 |
| 4 | Andersen Legal | 522 | 44 | 684 |
| 5 | CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre | France: 268 | 66 | 420 |
| | Worldwide: 321 | 72 | 492 |
| 6 | Gide Loyrette Nouel | France: 225 | 65 | 481 |
| | Worldwide: 344 | 73 | 671 |
| 7 | Deloitte & Touche | 191 | 31 | 280 |
| 8 | Clifford Chance | 179 | 20 | 361 |
| 9 | Jacques Barthélémy & Associés | 156 | 36 | 245 |
| 10 | Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | 135 | 28 | 285 |
| 11 | Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn | France: 125 | 39 | 274 |
| | Worldwide: 349 | 105 | 809 |
| 12 | Linklaters & Alliance | 114 | 19 | 187 |
| 13 | Magellan | 102 | 38 | 161 |
| 14 | August & Debouzy | 98 | 6 | 139 |
| 15 | Stibbe | 89 | 26 | 176 |
| Source: Juristes Associés |
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| Top 10 law firms in France (by turnover) |
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| Rank | Law firm | Turnover (FFr m) | Turnover (£m) | No of fee-earners |
| 1 | Fidal | 1,374 | 132.34 | 1,206 |
| 2 | Landwell & Associés | 768 | 73.97 | 607 |
| 3 | HSD Ernst & Young | 626 | 60.30 | 526 |
| 4 | Andersen Legal | 608.3 | 58.59 | 522 |
| 5 | Gide Loyrette Nouel | France: 552.8 | 53.25 | 225 |
| | Worldwide: 682.4 | 65.73 | 344 |
| 6 | CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre | France: 551 | 53.07 | 268 |
| | Worldwide: 640 | 61.64 | 321 |
| 7 | Clifford Chance | 420 | 40.45 | 179 |
| 8 | Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | 396 | 38.14 | 135 |
| 9 | Linklaters & Alliance | 300 | 28.90 | 114 |
| 10 | Deloitte & Touche | 270 | 26.01 | 191 |
| Source: Juristes Associés |
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