Macfarlanes
A guide to the law firm Macfarlanes: 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 Macfarlanes: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Macfarlanes is a City law firm with a prestigious reputation and a history dating back to 1875.
The firm is a member of the Silver Circle, the group of elite law firms sitting just behind the Magic Circle in terms of size and profitability.
While Macfarlanes is only a mid-sized firm with a limited international presence compared to many of its rivals, it’s regarded as one of the most prestigious law firms in the UK. It can perhaps be seen as the ‘Slaughter and May of the Silver Circle’: smaller in size but significantly more profitable and known for its distinctive tight-knit (and slightly old-school) culture.
When it comes to profit per equity partner (PEP), Macfarlanes regularly beats the Magic Circle firms that disclose the figure. In 2023/24, it posted a market-leading PEP of £2.6 million. Well ahead of all but Slaughter and May (which doesn’t disclose the figure but is thought to be north of £3 million).
A City stalwart, Macfarlanes grew steadily and organically throughout the 20th century, conspicuous for the absence of high-profile mergers and glitzy overseas office openings that many City players yearned for.
Today, Macfarlanes just has two offices globally: its HQ in London and a Brussels office opened in 2017. The firm intentionally keeps itself compact. It has around 500 fee-earners, including roughly 100 partners.
Macfarlanes is known for successfully mixing corporate and private client advice. It has a leading corporate/M&A practice and is renowned for its work in the private equity space, especially on mid-market deals. Its private client practice is probably the most highly-regarded in the City.
Macfarlanes makes our ranking of the UK's most prestigious law firms.
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Recent deal and industry highlights for Macfarlanes include:
Sale of Evelyn Partners' Accountancy Business: In November 2024, Macfarlanes advised Evelyn Partners on the sale of its professional services arm to private equity firm Apax for £700 million. The transaction was noteworthy as it was part of a series of private equity deals for professional services firms in the wider market.
Buyout of N Brown Plc: In October 2024, Macfarlanes advised the buyers on the all-cash take-private buyout of AIM-listed fashion retail group N Brown plc for £191 million.
Bitcoin Inventor Case: In March 2024, in a high-profile case Macfarlanes acted for a group of Bitcoin software developers in successfully defending claims brought by computer scientist Dr Craig Wright who claimed to be ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’, the pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin.
Legal AI: Macfarlanes has been an early adopter of AI technologies for law firms. In 2023, the firm announced a partnership with Harvey, the legal AI startup backed by OpenAI. Macfarlanes announced it was rolling out Harvey’s generative AI tool, designed specifically for legal work, as part of its AI strategy.
Macfarlanes is a full service corporate and private client law firm. Its clients include high net worth individuals, companies, financial institutions, and funds. It’s particularly known for its strengths in the following areas:
Corporate/M&A: Macfarlanes has a leading corporate practice, where it’s particularly strong on mid-market deals under £1 billion. Its private equity clients include Alchemy Partners, JC Flowers, and Mayfair Equity Partners. It has a Band 1 ranking by Chambers for Corporate/M&A: £100-800 million.
Banking and Finance: Macfarlanes is known for handling complex and bespoke mid-market deals for lenders, sponsors, portfolio companies and corporate borrowers. The firm is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers for its advice to borrowers on mid-market deals, and Band 2 for its lender advice.
Private Client: Macfarlanes has one of the most highly regarded private client practices in the City. It advises wealthy individuals and families on estate and succession planning, asset and wealth structuring, and family offices matters. The firm’s private wealth practice has a Band 1 ranking by Chambers.
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.
Macfarlanes most definitely punches above its weight. While it doesn't offer the international clout of many rivals, it competes with the leading 'upper mid-market' firms outside the Magic Circle for corporate/M&A mandates, including the likes of Ashurst and Herbert Smith Freehills.
Here’s what Macfarlanes pays its London trainees and newly qualified (NQ) lawyers:
Trainee First Year: £56,000
Trainee Second Year: £61,000
Newly Qualified (NQ): £140,000
We have a list of salaries paid by all of the UK’s top law firms here.
Despite its healthy profits, Macfarlanes sits just outside the top 25 biggest law firms in the UK by revenue. In 2023/24, its revenue was £309 million.
In 2023/24, its profit per equity partner (PEP) was £2.6 million.
In 2024, Macfarlanes’ average profit per equity partner (PEP) was £2.6 million.
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.
Macfarlanes takes 33 trainees each year in the UK.
Trainees complete four seats in different departments, each lasting six months.
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