The Lawyer’s top 200 UK law firms revealed

The full 2019 financial rankings of the UK’s top 200 law firms have been revealed in the latest The Lawyer UK 200 report.

Brexit uncertainties and fears of a coming recession continue to weigh on the UK economy, but well-hedged and well-managed law firms are in good shape to benefit from new opportunities, suggests The Lawyer‘s latest research into the business health of the UK’s top law firms.

Many lawyers like to put an upbeat spin on events, with the phrase ‘cautiously optimistic’ a long-time mantra among more than a few law firm leaders. The astonishing political events in the UK of the past few months have tested that optimism, cautious or otherwise, to the limit.

As this year’s The Lawyer UK 200 report was going to press, the political turbulence caused by Brexit was reaching unprecedented levels, with Parliament prorogued, the Prime Minister accused of lying to the Queen, and the outcome of a potentially pivotal Supreme Court ruling hotly anticipated. All the while, Brexit’s 31 October deadline clock continued to tick away in the background.

From a business of law perspective, the fact that the UK’s position regarding the EU continues to hang in the balance has created an environment in which deals are being held back or aborted; businesses are jettisoning the country and the City in favour of safer continental harbours; and the pound continues to plummet.

It is in this relentlessly gloomy context that the financial results of several of the UK’s largest law firms during 2018/19 continue to defy gravity.

But the caveat to this apparently barnstorming story is that the growth, and market share, of the UK’s largest firms by revenue has been anything but evenly spread between them. Indeed, an astonishing 91.4 per cent (£24.1bn) of the entire top 100 revenue was generated by the firms in the top half of the ranking. This fact alone speaks volumes about the ongoing fragmented nature of the legal services market.

The top 200 UK law firms 2019 by revenue

Rank 2019	Firm	Revenue 2018/19 (£m)
1	DLA Piper	1,946.8
2	Clifford Chance	1,693.0
3	Linklaters	1,628.7
4	Allen & Overy	1,627.0
5	Hogan Lovells	1,596.0
6	Norton Rose Fulbright	1,501.0
7	Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer	1,472.0
8	CMS	1,203.7
9	Herbert Smith Freehills	965.7
10	Eversheds Sutherland	895.6
11	BCLP	675.7
12	Ashurst	641.0
13	Clyde & Co	611.0
14	Slaughter and May	501.3
15	Pinsent Masons	482.0
16	Gowling WLG	461.7
17	Simmons & Simmons	374.4
18	Bird & Bird	361.0
19	Womble Bond Dickinson	359.8
20	Taylor Wessing	339.7
21	Addleshaw Goddard	275.4
22	DWF	272.4
23	Osborne Clarke	268.6
24	Irwin Mitchell	263.0
25	DAC Beachcroft	242.7
26	Fieldfisher	242.0
27	Macfarlanes	217.0
28	Kennedys	216.0
29	Stephenson Harwood	213.0
30	Withers	193.2
31	HFW	178.1
32	Mishcon de Reya	177.8
33	Watson Farley & Williams	172.3
34	Travers Smith	162.5
35	Slater and Gordon	155.9
36	Charles Russell Speechlys	154.3
37	Shoosmiths	137.6
38	Mills & Reeve	110.9
39	RPC	108.6
40	BLM	106.4
41	Trowers & Hamlins	105.2
42	Gateley	103.5
43	Weightmans	97.3
44	Burges Salmon	94.6
45	Hill Dickinson	90.5
46	Freeths	89.8
47	TLT	87.6
48	Keoghs	82.0
49	Penningtons Manches	79.5
50	Browne Jacobson	77.6
51	Brodies	76.9
52	Shakespeare Martineau	76.8
53	Blake Morgan	70.0
54	Stewarts	69.1
55	Farrer & Co	68.7
56	Lewis Silkin	59.0
57	Plexus Legal	58.6
58	Burness Paull	58.5
59	Forsters	56.5
60	Howard Kennedy	56.0
61	Shepherd & Wedderburn	55.7
62	Birketts	54.4
63	Fladgate	53.3
64	Knights	52.7
65	Ince	52.6
66	Hugh James	49.5
67	Clarke Willmott	49.4
68	Walker Morris	49.1
69	Foot Anstey	47.2
70	Bevan Brittan	46.0
71	Bristows	45.6
72	Dickson Minto	45.0
73	Ashfords	45.0
74	BDB Pitmans	44.0
75	Winckworth Sherwood	43.2
76	Kingsley Napley	42.8
77	Keystone Law	42.7
78	Capsticks	42.1
79	Veale Wasbrough Vizards	39.5
80	Michelmores	39.1
81	Leigh Day	39.0
82	Harbottle & Lewis	38.5
83	JMW	38.3
84	Ward Hadaway	37.7
85	Royds Withy King	37.6
86	Cripps Pemberton Greenish	36.8
87	Russell-Cooke	35.7
88	Wedlake Bell	35.4
89	Minster Law	35.1
90	Brabners	33.1
91	Devonshires	33.0
92	Digby Brown	32.0
93	Wiggin	31.5
94	Harrison Clark Rickerbys	31.0
94	Sackers	31.0
96	DMH Stallard	30.1
97	Thrings	30.0
98	MW Solicitors	29.5
99	Thorntons	29.5
100	Fletchers	29.4
101	Bates Wells Braithwaite	29.4
102	Harper Macleod	29.0
103	Boodle Hatfield	28.7
104	Stevens & Bolton	28.3
105	Moore Blatch	26.2
106	Wilkin Chapman	25.7
107	Geldards	25.2
108	Payne Hicks Beach	24.6
109	Memery Crystal	24.1
110	Turcan Connell	24.0
111	Edwin Coe	23.7
112	Joseph Hage Aaronson	23.6
113	Gunnercooke	23.3
114	Anderson Strathern	23.0
115	Fox Williams	22.4
116	Thomson Snell & Passmore	22.0
117	Morton Fraser	21.8
118	Wright Hassall	21.3
119	Lester Aldridge	21.3
120	Express Solicitors	21.3
121	Howes Percival	21.1
122	Langleys	20.6
123	Ashtons Legal	20.6
124	Simpson Millar	20.5
125	Anthony Collins	20.2
126	Stephens Scown	20.1
127	Peters & Peters	19.8
128	Stone King	19.8
129	Taylor Vinters	19.4
130	IBB Solicitors	18.9
131	Higgs & Sons	18.7
132	Collyer Bristow	18.7
133	MacRoberts	18.6
134	Vardags	18.6
135	Stephensons	18.3
136	Trethowans	18.1
137	Hewitsons	18.0
138	Fenwick Elliott	18.0
139	Hodge Jones & Allen	17.8
140	Winn Solicitors	17.8
141	Shulmans	17.6
142	Tees Law	17.6
143	Clarion	17.4
144	TWM	17.4
145	Forbes Solicitors	17.2
146	Gordons	17.1
147	Nelsons	17.1
148	RadcliffesLeBrasseur	17.0
149	Paris Smith	17.0
150	DAS Law	16.9
151	Teacher Stern	16.8
152	Bott & Co	16.5
153	Kemp Little	16.5
154	Lindsays	16.4
155	Switalskis	16.1
156	Birchall Blackburn Law	16.0
157	Lupton Fawcett	15.7
158	Boyes Turner	15.5
159	Goodman Derrick	15.3
160	Sintons	15.2
161	Roythornes	15.0
162	Enyo Law	15.0
163	EMW	14.9
164	Ramsdens	14.9
165	Wilsons	14.8
166	Coffin Mew	14.7
167	Brachers	14.7
168	Flint Bishop	14.4
169	Seddons	14.4
170	Anthony Gold Solicitors	14.3
171	Napthens	14.1
172	Ellisons	13.9
173	Laytons	13.5
174	Blacks	13.3
175	Kuits	13.2
176	FBC Manby Bowdler	13.1
177	Barlow Robbins	13.4
178	Gillespie Macandrew	13.0
179	Muckle	13.0
180	Taylor & Emmet	13.0
181	Schofield Sweeney	12.7
182	Hamlins	12.7
183	Chadwick Lawrence	12.7
184	Keebles	12.7
185	Cavendish Legal Group	12.6
186	Sills & Betteridge	12.6
187	Lee & Thompson	12.6
188	Rosenblatt	12.5
189	Wrigleys Solicitors	12.5
190	ASB Law	12.5
191	Brethertons	12.5
192	Wallace	12.2
193	Stowe Family Law	12.1
194	Lanyon Bowdler	12.1
195	Mayo Wynne Baxter	11.8
196	Porter Dodson	11.6
197	Ledingham Chalmers	11.6
198	Hunters	11.5
199	Druces	11.4
200	Morrisons Solicitors	11.1