Freshfields
A guide to the law firm Freshfields: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Last updated:
January 6, 2025
A guide to the law firm Freshfields: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Freshfields, officially Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer until October 2024, is one of the UK’s leading corporate law firms. The firm is a member of the group of the UK’s biggest and most prestigious law firms, the Magic Circle.
With a history dating back to 1743, Freshfields is considered the oldest member of the Magic Circle. One of the firm’s first clients was the Bank of England when founding partner Samuel Dodd was appointed ‘Solicitor to the Bank’. Freshfields has acted for the Bank ever since.
As we know it today, Freshfields was created in 2000 when the UK-based Freshfields merged with two European law firms, Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund and Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber, based in Germany and Austria. After a rebrand in October 2024, the firm dropped the "Bruckhaus" and "Deringer" names.
Today, Freshfields boasts more than 2,800 lawyers, including over 400 partners, with 28 offices in 17 countries, making it one of the largest law firms globally. It is headquartered in London, with offices in major cities across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas, including New York, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C.
In recent years, the firm has has worked to shed its ‘Magic Circle’ identity and align itself more closely with the so-called ‘global elite’ - a group of firms dominated by US heavyweights like Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins.
Its US-focused rebrand in 2024 (details below) and new status as one of the top 5 M&A deal advisers globally - the only UK firm to make the top 5 - have boosted this transformation. Many now view Freshfields as a fully-fledged member of the global elite.
The firm is renowned for its expertise in a wide range of practice areas. Freshfields is especially noted for its leading position in big-ticket corporate/M&A, banking and finance, competition/antitrust, dispute resolution, international arbitration, and tax.
Freshfields makes our ranking of the UK's most prestigious law firms.
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Recent deal and industry highlights for Freshfields include:
Private Equity Investment in Grant Thornton: In November 2024, Freshfields advised private equity firm Cinven on its acquisition of a majority stake in UK accountancy group Grant Thornton. The deal marked the most significant private equity investment to date in the UK accounting sector.
Buyout of Hargreaves Lansdown: Freshfields advised UK wealth management platform Hargreaves Lansdown on its sale to a consortium of private equity firms in a £5.4bn buyout. The deal was announced in August 2024 and is expected to complete in 2025.
Acquisition of Morrisons Petrol Stations For £2.5bn: In January 2024, Freshfields advised private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and its portfolio company Motor Fuel Group on its acquisition of 337 Morrisons petrol forecourts and more than 400 associated sites across the UK for £2.5bn.
Involvement in Controversial Cum-ex Trading Strategy: Freshfields gave advice on what became known as ‘Europe’s biggest tax scandal’. It was considered a ‘go-to firm’ for advice on ‘cum-ex’, a complex share-swapping strategy that gamed German tax authorities into refunding more than €388 million in dividend taxes that were never actually paid.
The firm struck a deal over its advice to German financial institution Maple Bank in 2021 to avoid prosecution and made a €10 million payment to the German tax authority. It also agreed a €50 million settlement with Maple Bank’s administrators.
In January 2024, Ulf Johannemann, Frehsfields’ former global head of tax, was sentenced to three and half years in prison by a Frankfurt court for his role in the scandal.
Rebrand: In October 2024, the firm officially rebranded as "Freshfields", dropping the "Bruckhaus" and "Deringer" names. It also stopped using the famous angel emblem in its logo. The move was seen as an attempt to align the firm's name with its new US-focused strategy.
Freshfields is a full service global corporate law firm. In particular, it’s known for its expertise in the following practice areas:
Banking & Finance: Freshfields is renowned for handling large-scale financing transactions, particularly advising corporate borrowers. The firm is ranked Band 1 by Chambers for ‘Banking & Finance: Big-Ticket’ deals for borrowers.
Corporate/M&A: Freshfields has long been considered one of the leading law firms for M&A. It’s ranked Band 1 by Chambers for ‘Corporate/M&A: £800m+’ transactions.
Competition: The firm has one of the strongest competition/antitrust departments in the market, advising on merger clearances and competition litigation. It has a Band 1 ranking by Chambers for competition law.
Litigation and Arbitration: Freshfields has a leading corporate disputes and international arbitration practice. The firm is ranked Band 1 by Chambers for ‘Commercial and Corporate Litigation’.
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.
Freshfields competes with the other members of the Magic Circle, as well as the leading US law firms considered to be part of the prestigious 'global elite', including the likes of Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and Skadden.
Here’s what Freshfields pays its trainees and newly qualified (NQ) lawyers:
Trainee First Year: £56,000
Trainee Second Year: £61,000
Newly Qualified (NQ): £150,000
We have a list of salaries paid by all of the UK’s top law firms here.
Freshfields is the 6th biggest law firm in the UK by revenue. In 2023, its revenue was £1.84 billion.
In 2023, its profit per equity partner (PEP) was £2,090,000.
In 2023, Freshfields' average profit per equity partner (PEP) was £2,090,000.
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.
Freshfields takes on around 100 trainees each year.
Unlike most other firms, Freshfields has a unique eight-seat training contract with trainees rotating every three months.
Trainees can also apply for a six-month secondment for their last two seats to one of the firm’s 28 global offices.
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