Fieldfisher closes 2023 with a 15% increase in net revenues
Fieldfisher closed 2023 with a 15% increase in fee earners compared to 2022. This growth is due to an increase in services to international clients, which this year exceeds 15% of turnover. Also relevant is the growth of internal cross-selling, which stands at around 35% of turnover and is the result of a culture and remuneration policy that fosters collaboration and a good atmosphere among partners.
Image: Rodrigo Martos, Director of Fieldfisher’s Madrid office and Jordi Ruiz de Villa, Managing Partner of Fieldfisher in Spain.
“We want to reach 20 million to become the leader in the middle market,” said Jordi Ruiz de la Villa, managing partner of the firm in Spain, during the presentation of the results.
In terms of gross turnover (including expenses on behalf of clients), Fieldfisher grew by 6% due to a change in the invoicing system for expenses passed on to large accounts, reaching €13.8 million.
Jordi Ruiz de Villa, Managing Partner of Fieldfisher in Spain, explains that “Thanks to the strong growth of the firm, we met the objectives set out in the 2020/2023 plan ahead of schedule. Therefore, in mid-2023 we approved a new strategic plan that proposes a 35% growth for the 2023/2025 period.”
Fieldfisher’s growth paths
The firm is pursuing a growth plan by attracting talent from other international firms or boutiques and through internal business development, which has resulted in the promotion of partners who have developed great work in the firm.
Proof of this is that during 2023 the current Head of Employment Eduardo Gómez de Enterría (from Dentons), the Real Estate partner Victor Casarrubios (from Jones Day), the International Arbitration partner Pedro Claros (who had his own boutique) and the Of Counsel of International Arbitration, Antonio Delgado have joined this new practice area to the firm.
Likewise, and as an expression of the internal business development, at the end of 2023 it was agreed to promote the Head of Energy and Public Law, Ramón Vazquez del Rey, to partner.
From a team point of view, the number of lawyers has increased from 82 to 91 fee earners with a growth of 11%, which shows that part of the growth in net income (which is 15%) comes from the greater sophistication of the matters entrusted to the firm.
Fieldfisher has focused on the Life Science, Technology, Franchising, Financial and Energy sectors where it has experienced strong growth and has also improved several business lines, with the areas that have grown the most throughout 2023 being those related to Regulatory Law and Compliance where a multidisciplinary service is provided in several specialties, Tech & Data, Corporate M&A as well as Labor, Real Estate and tax, while the rest of the areas have grown, but with less intensity.
Ruiz de Villa adds that “in fiscal year 2024 we would like to continue growing in Barcelona in areas such as Corporate and Venture Capital, Tax, Litigation, Real Estate and Energy; and in the Madrid office in Criminal and Litigation, without ruling out other areas such as Capital Markets and Tax.”
Talent
The firm emphasizes that they are in a period in which, despite not having any open search, they are receiving more and more requests from professionals with three to eight years of experience, coming from other firms. The recent increases in salaries of professionals already belonging to the firm, as well as the flexibility, secondments or stays of lawyers in other offices, may be one of the causes of this growing interest of professionals in the firm.
In addition, a program (FP5 Future Partner 5) has been designed for 2024 to identify and promote lawyers who are likely to become partners within a maximum period of 5 years, for whom special follow-up and training will be provided.
Regarding values in 2023, the action plans of the three committees created in 2022 have materialized: sustainability, equality/diversity and pro-bono/social action.
For example, in the pro-bono/social action committee there are 10 people involved, around 300 hours have been invested in different projects in a disinterested way valued at more than 100K euros, and collaboration with 5 non-profit organizations has taken place. Globally, Fieldfisher has an initiative called “One Firm Action” which has managed to raise more than 250K pounds for charitable causes in 2023.
Sustainable growth and investment in AI
Fieldfisher is confident of achieving the sustainable growth envisaged in its 2023/2025 plan and increasing the number of lawyers in most practice areas to continue to grow.
In 2022, a working group was created to evaluate and develop AI solutions and drive the firm’s AI strategy. This task force consists of Fieldfisher global managing partner Robert Shooter, U.S. managing partner Mark Webber and chief information officer Nigel Lang. The team is assessing where the firm should prioritize the use of AI, determining which technology will have the greatest impact for clients and also for the back office itself. Process and marketing trials are being conducted, as well as benchmarking across multiple teams in different jurisdictions and industries.
From Spain they are focusing more on “operational issues and systems to help them improve”. Globally they are developing their own AI tools and custom software development to ensure client security and confidentiality.
Fieldfisher, consolidated growth around the world
Fieldfisher recorded its tenth consecutive year of revenue growth, reaching £370 million, up 11% on the previous year. The increase in turnover has been generalized in all the countries of the international network, with double-digit increases in Belgium and Germany, as well as in Spain.
It also has more than 1,800 professionals located in 26 offices in 12 countries, providing legal advice based on a deep knowledge of the needs of clients in different sectors.
