But it gave Clifford Chance its longed-for entry into Wall Street. P nder, meanwhile, was one of two German frontrunners for merger. The other, Bruckhaus, later ended up with Freshfields, much to the regret of some at Clifford Chance. Clifford Chance's very conservative budget predicted 469m for the year 1999-2000, but revenues shot past that figure to 585m. Compare that with a turnover of 442.5m in 1998-99.
Profitability is easily on a par with the other magic circle firms.
Average profits leapt from 605,000 to 690,000, while plateau partners are now on 804,000 - compared to last year's 663,000. Business groups performed well across the board. Clifford Chance's London finance department had a good time of it, particularly in telecoms financings. The year began with a bang with Olivetti, where Clifford Chance advised the Chase-led syndicate and billed millions. This was followed by Mannesmann's shortlived 8bn loan for the acquisition of Orange, and later by work on France Telecom's financing of its purchase of Orange.