CMS
A guide to the law firm CMS: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Last updated:
January 2, 2025
A guide to the law firm CMS: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
CMS is a large international law firm with deep European roots and a rich heritage in the UK.
The firm’s current structure was established in 1999 through the merger of six European firms creating a so-called "partnership of partnerships" with over 1,400 lawyers. The (admittedly) somewhat unusual structure allowed member firms to retain their separate names while operating under the CMS brand.
The firm's London roots actually trace all the way back to 1779 with the City law practice of T Hewitt. Fast forward 200 years, in 1997 Cameron Markby Hewitt merged with fellow City law firm McKenna & Co to form Cameron McKenna (renamed CMS Cameron McKenna in 1999 after the six-way merger).
More mergers were to come. Most notably in 2017, when highly-regarded mid-market City outfits Nabarro and Olswang joined up with CMS to become CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang - a mouthful which the firm is still legally known by today (in the UK at least).
Today, CMS globally operates through 18 independent member firms, each with its own regional focus, across a whopping 80 offices in nearly 50 countries.
Its most notable member firms include:
Globally, the firm employs over 6,300 lawyers and more than 1,300 partners, making it the world's fifth-largest law firm by lawyer headcount.
In the UK itself, CMS operates from offices in London, Aberdeen, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Reading and Sheffield.
CMS UK is known for its full-service offering, with particular strengths in real estate (a legacy of Nabarro's highly-regraded real estate practice), media and entertainment (building on Olswang's expertise), corporate/M&A, and energy and infrastructure.
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Recent deal and industry highlights for CMS include:
€3.9bn Sale of German Tech Firm Aareon: In June 2024, CMS advised Aareal Bank on the sale of its subsidiary Aareon, a European SaaS company for the real estate industry, to private equity firm TPG Capital and investment group CDPQ.
£6bn Annuity Portfolio Acquisition: In January 2024, CMS advised Rothesay on its acquisition of a £6bn bulk annuity portfolio from Scottish Widows, a division of Lloyds Banking Group. The transaction involved the transfer of pension benefits for approximately 42,000 people.
Inaugural Esports World Cup: In July 2024, a multi-jurisdictional team from CMS advised the Esports World Cup Foundation on the organisation of the first Esports World Cup (EWC) that took place over eight weeks in July and August 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Nestle Trademark Blunder: In June 2024, a blunder by CMS cost client Nestlé its UK trademark for its Crunch chocolate bar after the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) decided it had no valid excuse for filing a key document late. CMS failed to respond to a cancellation action on time.
US Expansion: CMS is one of several City law firms tipped for a possible merger with a US firm. In May 2024, senior partner Charles Currier expressed an interest in expanding the firm's presence into the lucrative US market.
CMS is a full service corporate law firm, advising clients including companies, financial institutions, and governments. It has strengths across a wide range of practice areas but is probably best known for its expertise in the following areas:
Corporate/M&A: CMS has a highly-regarded M&A practice, especially known for its work on mid-market deals across various sectors, including energy and infrastructure, and media and technology. CMS has a Band 1 ranking by Chambers for mid-market M&A work.
Construction: One of its strongest practices, CMS is known for its advice across contentious and non-contentious construction matters. It is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers for both matter types, as well as for professional negligence disputes.
Real Estate: With one of the biggest real estate teams in the UK, CMS is known for its expertise across a range of commercial real estate matters - an area that legacy firm Nabarro was particularly well known for. It has a Band 2 ranking by Chambers for real estate transactional work, and a Band 1 ranking for real estate litigation.
Media & Entertainment: Leaning on expertise it inherited from legacy firm Olswang, CMS is renowned for its full-service media practice, advising on the full breadth of work across the sector including content production and financing, broadcast and distribution, music, publishing, theatre, sports rights and media regulation. It has a Band 2 ranking by Chambers for Media & Entertainment work.
We use Chambers rankings to demonstrate a firm's strengths. Chambers is the most highly-regarded provider of law firm rankings in the legal industry. Law firms are ranked in bands from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest) across a range of practice areas.
It's important to note that being ranked in any band at all is still considered a significant achievement.
CMS is regarded as a solid mid-market law firm across a number of practice areas. The firm competes with the likes of UK rivals Eversheds Sutherland, Pinsent Masons and DLA Piper.
Here’s what CMS pays its London trainees and newly qualified (NQ) lawyers:
Trainee First Year: £50,000
Trainee Second Year: £55,000
Newly Qualified (NQ): £110,000
We have a list of salaries paid by all of the UK’s top law firms here.
CMS is the 8th biggest law firm in the UK by revenue. In 2023, its revenue was £1.62 billion (converted from EUR). This, however, represents the firm’s global revenues across its 18 member firms.
Its UK arm (which extends well beyond the UK - see above) reported revenue of £734 million in 2023/24.
In 2024, its profit per equity partner (PEP) was estimated to be £741,500.
In 2024, CMS’ average profit per equity partner (PEP) was estimated to be £741,500.
This is the total amount of profit available for distribution among equity partners, divided by the number of equity partners at the firm.
This represents the average amount that equity partners are entitled to. Some will receive significantly more, some less. It depends on the firm’s profit-sharing formula and each partner’s seniority.
CMS is the second-largest training contract provider in the UK (after Clifford Chance). It takes on around 95 trainees each year in the UK.
Trainees complete four seats in different departments, each lasting six months.
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