Bird & Bird has posted moderate gains in revenue and profit in the first year of its five-year strategy, as the UK-founded firm aims to hit €1bn in revenue by 2029.
Revenue grew 6% in the year to 30 April 2025 to €672.6m (£580.5m), marking the firm’s 33rd consecutive year of growth but a slowdown from the 10% rise it recorded for FY24.
Meanwhile, net profit edged up 3% and profit per equity partner (PEP), which increased 8% in FY24 €837k, fell by 0.7% to €831k.
In May last year, Bird & Bird launched its five-year strategy, the first of its kind for the firm, which included the ambitious target to reach €1bn in revenue by 2029.
The 1,500-lawyer firm kicked off the strategy with the launch of an office in Tokyo last autumn, which CEO Christian Bartsch said was in line with its ambition for “purposeful, intentional growth in key markets where our clients are thriving”.
The firm hired corporate partner Hiro Iwamura from Ashurst to support the launch, with the office servicing Japanese clients with outbound cross-border work in core sectors for the firm, including renewable energy, life sciences, technology and media.
In May, the firm unveiled plans to open an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia initially focused on technology and IP law as well as general corporate matters. It will be Bird & Bird’s 34th globally and its third in the region after Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
“Our sights are firmly set on being the leading international law firm guiding organisations through a world being shaped by technology, innovation and regulation,” Bartsch said. “We are growing ambitiously having opened our office in Tokyo and we are opening in Riyadh, meeting the demands of our clients in key industry sectors and practices.”
Over the course of the year, the firm has made 12 lateral partner hires globally, including tech expert Nick O’Connell, who joined from leading Saudi firm Al Tamimi & Company ahead of the firm’s Riyadh launch.
The firm boosted its European network with M&A partner hires in Milan and Frankfurt and financial services partner Nicolas Mordaunt-Crook, who joined in Paris in February from PwC Société d’Avocats, among other hires.
In April, the firm promoted 17 lawyers to partner, including seven in its 450-strong IP practice.
Bird & Bird has also been investing in legaltech, rolling out its AI platform Legora, formerly known as Leya, firmwide in February.
Bird & Bird said its partnership with Legora had enabled it to collaborate closely to create and customise the platform to specific client needs.
Standout disputes work in the past financial year included winning a key ruling for client Stability AI in its copyright and trademark infringement dispute with Getty Images.
On the M&A side, the firm acted in deals including advising Canon subsidiary Milestone on its acquisition of BrighterAI, which anonymises video data for clients including Volkswagen, Deutsche Bahn and chipmaker Nvidia.
Bartsch added: “We are one year into our five-year strategy and our people are pulling together, sharing their expertise to reach our goal of becoming a €1bn law firm by 2029. We continue to thrive in tech-related fields, ranging from IP to transactions, despite a challenging economic environment.
“I’m more confident than ever that the culture and values of this firm will continue to drive us to success.”
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