International firm Herbert Smith Freehills today posted a 6% increase in revenue to a record £1.1bn to register the international firm’s ninth consecutive year of growth.

The firm also announced a record profit of £381.2m in the year ending 30 April 2022 – a 4% rise from last year, when profits leapt by 30% – and a 6% bump in profit per equity partner to £1.16m.

Justin D’Agostino, Herbert Smith Freehills’ CEO, said: ‘This year’s result was particularly pleasing, surpassing our record-breaking FY21 – a year which saw revenue and PEP exceed £1bn and £1m respectively for the first time. Activity across all regions and practice areas was strong. Clients turned to our “twin engines” – our leading transactional and disputes expertise – for their most strategically important matters.’

He added: ‘Increased client demand in class actions and contentious matters kept our leading disputes and regulatory teams busy across the globe. Our offices in Australia, Hong Kong, New York, Belfast and the Middle East had an exceptional year, as did Paris and Madrid, each with double-digit growth. London also performed strongly.’

D’Agostino also hailed ‘our largest partner promotion round in the firm’s history’, after Herbert Smith Freehills promoted 34 lawyers worldwide – and 12 in the UK – to partner in April. The firm also said last week that it is increasing its newly-qualified salaries in London by 14% to £120,000.

‘Building on our confidence and strong momentum, we are fully-focused on our firm’s Ambition 2025 strategy this year, cementing our position as one of the world’s leading international law firms. Despite the headwinds in the global economy, we are confident in our financial and strategic resilience.’

He added that the firm’s decision to close its Moscow office – which had 111 staff, including 55 lawyers, before the closure was announced in March – ‘was not taken lightly but our [Europe, the Middle East and Africa] region is now focusing on future growth’.