The Brief:
HSF tops Australia’s legal earnings ladder with more than A$1.05m in revenue per lawyer.
The results highlight the rise of a global elite of “runaway” law firms, where size, reach, and geography now define success.
Australia’s elite law firms are performing well. But the real contest is being fought globally.
According to Law.com, Herbert Smith Freehills leads the local pack with A$2.6bn in total revenue and an RPL (revenue per lawyer) of A$1.06m, just edging out Ashurst at A$2bn and A$1.04m per lawyer.
But much of HSF and Ashurst’s advantage stems from their international footprints. Both have major UK operations, where peers like Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance report over A$1.4m in revenue per lawyer and total revenues above A$4.5bn.
The next best performers — Corrs Chambers Westgarth ($756k RPL) and King & Wood Mallesons ($667k RPL) — trail by a fair margin, while Allens, Clayton Utz, and MinterEllison sit below the $500k mark.
Firm | Revenue Per Lawyer | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
Herbert Smith Freehills | A$1,058,800 | A$2,629,150,000 |
Ashurst | A$1,045,200 | A$2,001,870,400 |
Corrs Chambers Westgarth | A$755,900 | A$524,634,800 |
King & Wood Mallesons | A$666,500 | A$1,893,480,000 |
Clayton Utz | A$499,900 | A$585,406,500 |
MinterEllison | A$498,300 | A$672,694,400 |
Allens | A$472,600 | $A532,994,900 |
That scale puts them in a “global elite” - a small group of firms pulling decisively ahead. The top 50 firms now generate nearly 60% of the world’s US$222bn legal revenue, fuelled by expansion, talent concentration, and tech investment.
To be an elite global firm, you need to be present in the world's most important markets, including New York, Washington, Northern California in the U.S., London, with some presence in Asia. And you need to be market leading in key, strategic practice areas.
Scale has become strategy.
“Today’s clients have ever-more sophisticated needs as they navigate an increasingly complex and fast-moving market,” said Latham & Watkins’ chair Richard Trobman. “They want excellence at scale.”
That logic is driving both mergers and cross-border growth.
HSF Kramer chair Rebecca Maslen-Stannage said globalisation is now both offensive and defensive. “A transaction will come in and the client might not have decided yet whether it is going to be UK law or US law,” she said. “The world is more global and very complex at a geopolitical level. So clients really need internationally focused advice.”
Her comments reflect the new reality for Australian firms: competing at home now means competing globally.