Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Freshfields is a top-5 global law firm advising on the biggest cross-border M&A deals.
On the record
Checkpoint: FY26/27 financial results showing whether US growth held above 10% and partner attrition stabilized
The call
Freshfields still lands giant deals like Uber's Delivery Hero bid, but US rivals are pulling partners and margin away faster than AI is pulling work away.
Freshfields is one of the world's five biggest merger and acquisition law firms, making about 2.25 billion pounds a year. It is hard to replace because lawyers need licenses to practice, clients stick with firms they trust for decades, and big deals require deep expertise in rules and liability. However, American law firms like Latham and Ropes & Gray are paying partners more money and stealing Freshfields' talent, while artificial intelligence tools are now doing the routine paperwork and research that junior lawyers used to bill hours for, cutting into the firm's profit model. Whether Freshfields can keep its best people and grow in the US without gutting its European operations will decide if it stays valuable to its owners over the next two years.
Why
01
AI pressure: Claude/Cowork, Gemini, CoCounsel deployed inside Freshfields and by rivals. AI tools compress junior-associate work like document review and first drafts, the billable hours that fund training and firm economics. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Paul Weiss, Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & Ellis, Ropes & Gray, Simpson Thacher. US white-shoe firms poach senior partners and now beat Freshfields on profit per lawyer in London, pulling talent and mandates away. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. Licensure, professional indemnity requirements, and decades of client relationships on marquee cross-border mandates keep clients from switching to AI or newer rivals.
What would change this call
Freshfields' Dec 2026/April 2027 FY26/27 financial results, especially US revenue growth rate and PEP. Whether US expansion and lateral hiring wars are paying off or eroding profitability further.
Whether Continental Europe partner headcount (Germany, Paris, Brussels) stabilizes or keeps shrinking after 2025 equity downgrades. Whether the pay overhaul that pushed out equity partners is destabilizing non-US practice groups.
Outcome and retention of the Uber-Delivery Hero $14.8bn mandate through Q4 2026. Whether Freshfields keeps landing marquee global deals or loses them to US rivals.
Whether Continental Europe partner headcount (Germany, Paris, Brussels) stabilizes or keeps shrinking after 2025 equity downgrades. Whether the pay overhaul that pushed out equity partners is destabilizing non-US practice groups.
Outcome and retention of the Uber-Delivery Hero $14.8bn mandate through Q4 2026. Whether Freshfields keeps landing marquee global deals or loses them to US rivals.
Key numbers
- FY25 revenue £2.25bn to £2.3bn, up ~6%
- Pre-tax profit fell ~2% to about £650m
- US revenue up 21% to £473.3m, now 21% of total
Named risks
- Continued senior partner attrition to US white-shoe firms hollowing out practice groups.
- Late-2025 compensation overhaul forcing out or downgrading Continental Europe equity partners.
- Firm no longer discloses profit-per-equity-partner, reducing transparency on real economics.
- Rising employment costs (up 10%) compressing margins despite revenue growth.
- UK legal regulator SRA facing its own credibility crisis, raising industry oversight uncertainty.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Latham & Watkins | gaining on | Took 4-partner German PE team plus Brussels competition partner from Freshfields, 2026-07 |
| Ropes & Gray | gaining on | Poached Freshfields' global co-head of leveraged finance, 2026-07 |
| Simpson Thacher | gaining on | Hired a London financial-services partner from Freshfields, 2026-07 |
| Clifford Chance | losing to | Posted £2.6bn FY26 revenue vs Freshfields £2.25-2.3bn, and PEP £2.3m vs Freshfields' last disclosed £2.09m |
| Linklaters | losing to | Reported PEP £2.48-2.5m (up 11.4%) FY26, above Freshfields' last disclosed £2.09m |
| Paul Weiss | losing to | Cited as London's most profitable firm by revenue-per-lawyer over £2m as of 2026-06 |
Questions people ask
- Is Freshfields profitable in 2025?
- Yes but profit slipped. Freshfields' pre-tax profit fell about 2% to roughly £649-657m for FY2024/25 even as revenue rose to £2.25-2.3bn, driven by a 10% jump in employment costs, per Legal Cheek reporting dated 2025-12-16.
- Is Freshfields losing partners to US law firms?
- Yes. In 2026 Latham & Watkins took a 4-partner German PE team plus a Brussels competition partner, Ropes & Gray took Freshfields' global co-head of leveraged finance, and Simpson Thacher took a London financial-services partner, per CityAM, 2026-07-14.
- Could AI replace Freshfields lawyers?
- Unlikely soon for senior roles. AI is compressing junior associate work like document review and due diligence, but Freshfields deployed Anthropic's Claude/Cowork firmwide in April 2026 and Gemini tools to 5,000+ staff, using AI as leverage rather than being displaced by it.
- Who is Freshfields' biggest competitor?
- Fellow Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance, which posted £2.6bn FY26 revenue versus Freshfields' £2.25-2.3bn, and US white-shoe firms like Paul Weiss, now cited as London's most profitable firm by revenue-per-lawyer above £2m as of June 2026.
- Who owns Freshfields?
- Freshfields is a private international LLP law partnership owned by its 400+ equity partners, with no external investors, parent company, or public listing, consistent with standard Magic Circle firm structure.
- Why did Freshfields change its name?
- In October 2024 the firm dropped 'Bruckhaus Deringer' from its legal name and retired its angel emblem, explicitly aligning its branding with an aggressive US growth strategy that saw US revenue rise 21% to £473.3m by FY2025.
Timeline
- 2026-07-21Advised Uber on proposed $14.8bn combination with Delivery Hero
- 2026-07-14Reports emerge Freshfields ousts equity partners amid US expansion push
- 2026-07-13Firm confirmed to have culled partners after late-2025 pay overhaul
- 2026-07-09Google Gemini tools reported in use by 5,000+ staff via internal AI Academy
- 2026-07-07Latham & Watkins hires Brussels competition partner from Freshfields
- 2026-04-23Multi-year Anthropic partnership announced, deploying Claude/Cowork firmwide
- 2026-04-16Record 47 lawyers promoted to partner, nearly double 2025 cohort
- 2026-01-14Ranked top German M&A adviser by deal value ($52.8bn) for 2025
- 2025-12-16FY2024/25 results: pre-tax profit falls ~2% to ~£649-657m on rising costs
- 2024-10Firm shortens legal name, dropping 'Bruckhaus Deringer', aligns with US push
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Defensible for now. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- US surge drives Freshfields to £2.25bn as costs continue to rise (2025-12-15)
- Freshfields profits slip despite rising revenue (2025-12-16)
- Magic circle Freshfields ousts equity partners amid US push (2026-07-14)
- All You Need To Know (2026-05-19)
- Freshfields advises Uber on proposed acquisition of Delivery Hero (2026-07-21)
- Freshfields rebuilds Germany PE bench (2026-01-14)
- Legal & Business Careers Worldwide
- United States
- Law firm Freshfields forces out partners after pay overhaul (2026-07-13)
- Freshfields makes up 47 in bumper partner promotions round (2026-04-16)
- Freshfields (2026-05-04)
- Freshfields and Anthropic Team Up (2026-04-23)