Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance LLP


Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
No. of Offices	30 in 21 countries
No. of Attorneys	3,800+
Major Practice Areas	General practice
Revenue	▲ £1.329 billion
Date Founded	1987 (London)
Company Type	Limited liability partnership

is an international law firm with its principal office at Canary Wharf inLondon. It is one of the UK's "Magic Circle" of leading law firms and has been the largest law firm in the world, both by number of lawyers and revenue, up to 2009.

Profile

Clifford Chance's London headquarters at 10 Upper Bank Street - the building on the right

Clifford Chance (CC) used to be the largest law firm in the world, both by number of lawyers and revenue, becoming the world's first billion-dollar business law firm (and the biggest-billing law firm ever) in 2006, registering record revenues of $2.039 billion, with partners sharing a profit of $660 million^[1]. In the same year, Clifford Chance topped three tables for worldwide M&A, advising on 444 deals globally which were valued at a total of $490 billion, and was named "Law Firm of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards held in London on June 27, 2006^[2].

The firm is also the world's largest by number of lawyers: as of May 2007 it employed 3,857 fee-earners/lawyers (including 617 partners) and about 3620 non-legal staff. It has 28 offices spread across 21 countries in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm's London headquarters is 10 Upper Bank Street, which provides a range of amenities to the staff, including a gymnasium, swimming pool, squash courts, medical centre, and other facilities.

Media reports in June 2009 indicated that its revenue had fallen behind that of several other law firms due to the credit crisis.^[3]

In 2002, the firm was infamously ranked last in associate satisfaction in The American Lawyer's annual associate survey. Several associates on the firm's personnel committee then drafted a scathing memorandum outlining their complaints, which was ultimately circulated on the internet. Managing Partner at the time, Peter Cornell, relocated to New York to address many of the concerns mentioned in the memo: as a result the flow of departures was halted, and the firm actually began attracting lateral hires. Clifford Chance was the most improved firm in the next year's survey.^[4] Since then, the firm has continued to improve in the annual associate survey. In 2007, it was ranked #29.

Since May 1, 2006, David Childs has been Global Managing Partner of Clifford Chance. Childs took over the role from Peter Cornell for a four-year term. Childs was previously global head of the firm's corporate practice and Global Chief Operating Officer since late 2003. In 2005 he announced his stepping-down from the head of corporate role so that he could concentrate on his global leadership role in the firm, combined with a lead role in major transactions for his clients.

Because of falling revenues during the credit crisis, Clifford Chance laid off around 130 salaried lawyers and 115 staff employes from 2007 to mid 2009, and in 2009 reduced the number of partners.^[3]

A February 2009 poll among more than 2,500 law students at Russell Group Universities and Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) course providers ranked Clifford Chance as the UK's most prestigious law firm.^[5]

History

Clifford Chance's origins date back to 1802. However it was the merger of London firms Clifford–Turner and Coward Chance in 1987 which formed the firm as it is today. Neither were first rank law firms, and the merger was derided by some at the time, but it has since been said to have changed the shape and profile of law firms in London and across the world^[6]. Over the next decade, the firm built its practices across Europe and Asia, more than doubling in size. Recognising the importance of a US law capability, the firm established its New York practice in 1986 and in 1992 became the first major non-US firm to practise US law.^{[citation needed]} Clifford Chance was a New York state registered limited liability partnership, but has now converted into a UK LLP.

In 1999, Clifford Chance merged with one of the largest and most successful German firms, the Frankfurt-based Pünder, Volhard, Weber & Axster, and also with the 1871-established American firm Rogers & Wells. (The use of the Pünder, Volhard, Weber & Axster and Rogers & Wells branding for those European and American regional offices was discontinued in 2003.) In 2002, Clifford Chance launched in California with nearly 50 attorneys from the disbanding dot-com firm Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison in Los Angeles, Palo Alto, San Diego and San Francisco. However, with the California economy reeling from dot-com dislocations, the firm shuttered its California operations by 2007 as partners defected to other firms.^[7]

[edit]Main practice areas

The firm's main areas of practice are in banking and finance, capital markets, corporate law, real estate and litigation. However, it is active in an extremely broad range of areas. Chambers and Partners lists Clifford Chance as a leading firm in over 30 different practice areas around the world. Some of the practice areas where the firm is ranked "top tier" include^[8]:

Banking & Finance (in Belgium, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom)
Capital markets (in Germany, Italy, Singapore and United Kingdom)
Dispute Resolution (Litigation) (in China, Russia and United Kingdom)
European Competition and Regulation / Antitrust (in France, Spain and the United Kingdom)
Private Equity (in Germany, Spain and United Kingdom)
Projects (in Germany, United Kingdom and globally)
Real Estate (in France, Germany, Poland, Spain and United Kingdom)
Tax (globally and in Europe)

As of 2009, Clifford Chance is increasingly moving office tasks to its 240-employee New Delhi bureau as a cost-cutting measure.^[3]

[edit]Notable recent cases tried

Re HIH Casualty and General Insurance Ltd and other companies; McMahon and others v McGrath and another [2008] UKHL 21 - an important decision regarding the extent to which the English courts will enforce the decision of foreign liquidators

R (on the application of the Countryside Alliance and others) v Attorney General and others [2007] UKHL 52 - concerning whether fox hunting breached the European Convention on Human Rights and/or rights under EC law, and the balance between these rights and public policy considerations

Indofood International Finance Ltd v. JP Morgan Chase Bank NA (2006) 8 ITLR 653 (CA) - a significant case concerning the interpretation of double taxation conventions

Secretary of State for the Home Department v JJ and others [2007] UKHL 45 - concerning the legality of control orders made in respect of terrorist suspects

Attorneys from Clifford Chance helped prepared the habeas corpus petitions in Khalid, et al. v. Bush and Omar Deghayes v. George W. Bush, for detainees held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13] Charles "Cully" Stimson, then Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, stirred controversy when he went on record questioning the patriotism of law firms that allowed employees to assist Guantanamo detainees: "corporate CEOs seeing this should ask firms to choose between lucrative retainers and representing terrorists."^[14] Stimson's views were widely criticized. The Pentagon disavowed them and he resigned shortly thereafter.

On top of these notable cases, the firm has also represented a number of high profile clients, which include JP Morgan, ABN Amro, Barclays and BNP Paribas.^[15]