Bird & Bird revenue tops €700M in 2025/26
Bird & Bird has closed its 2025/26 financial year with global revenue of €702 million (£606 million), up 4% on the previous year’s €672.6 million (£580.5 million). The firm, led by CEO Christian Bartsch, employs more than 3,700 people, including over 1,800 lawyers and 400 partners, across 33 offices in 23 countries. The result marks the firm’s 34th consecutive year of growth.
Alongside the 4% revenue increase, net profit rose 1%, while profit per equity partner (PEP) fell 1.5% to €819,000. The firm attributed the performance to continued demand for its technology-focused practice areas despite geopolitical volatility and a shifting economic backdrop, noting that its strategic focus on technology-led work has remained attractive to clients across sectors and markets.
Strategy and leadership
Bird & Bird launched a five-year strategy in May 2024, and has opened three new offices in the past two years, in Lisbon, Riyadh and Tokyo. The firm said its work in intellectual property, technology, data and regulatory matters remains “a point of differentiation as it continues to integrate artificial intelligence into its business model, balancing productivity gains from generative AI with client trust, compliance and talent development”.
On the leadership front, the firm appointed Simon Hughes as Chief Operating Officer, and named Emma Lago as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and Raya Blakeley-Glover as Chief Business Development & Client Officer. The firm also promoted Seb Butcher to Senior AI Lawyer following a secondment from the Media, Entertainment and Sport Group, where he now works alongside Hélder Santos, Head of Legal Tech and Innovation, and Jenny McBride.
Over the past financial year, the firm hired lateral partners to meet client demand and promoted 19 partners internally. On the AI front, the firm rolled out a global training programme, Digital Academy, developed with its technology lawyers, professional support lawyers, IT training team and an external provider, and finalised a Global AI Policy governing confidentiality, data use, human oversight and quality control, developed jointly by its Risk, LegalTech & Innovation and InfoSec teams.
Christian Bartsch, CEO of Bird & Bird, commented: “Our ambition remains clear: to guide organisations through a world shaped by technology, innovation and regulation. We are continuing to invest in the areas where we see the greatest long-term opportunity – our people and platform, innovative legal tech, and deep client relationships. Our focus is on building the capabilities that will matter over the years to come.”
