HSF Kramer has expressed satisfaction with its first set of financial results following the merger that created it, reporting revenue of $2.4bn (£1.8bn) for FY26.
The reporting period was 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2026, with the results including the performance of a full 12 months of legacy Herbert Smith Freehills and 11 months of legacy Kramer Levin, from when the combination went live in June last year.
Profit stood at $850.8m (£633.9m), while profit per equity partner (PEP) was $2.1m (£1.5m).
The merged firm's PEP sits between the PEP reported by its constituent firms in their last financial years before they joined forces. It is up by 7% on the £1.4m PEP Herbert Smith Freehills reported in FY25 and 12.5% down on the 2024 figure of $2.4m posted by Kramer Levin, much the smaller of the merger partners.
HSF Kramer's global CEO, Justin D’Agostino, said the merged firm's transatlantic and transpacific capabilities "have propelled us into a new league".
He added: “We were always confident that the combination of Herbert Smith Freehills and Kramer Levin was a strong fit, but the success of the integration has exceeded those expectations. We surpassed our FY26 financial goals, achieving synergy revenues that were more than double the target set at the time of the combination."
D'Agostino added the firm had grown revenue across all its regions, including double-digit growth in Asia and EMEA and "another very strong year" in the UK.
The firm added 51 partners globally over the course of the year, including 15 in the US, through lateral hires and a 25-strong internal promotions round. Key hires included corporate partner Burr Eckstut from White & Case, who joined in New York as head of its US technology transactions practice, and a trio of M&A partners from Paul Hastings, also in New York.
In the coming year, the firm said it would focus on growth in the energy sector, private capital, defending class actions and restructuring and special situations, with a particular focus on global funds, pension capital and infrastructure investors.
In the US, the firm said it would look to build its energy and infrastructure offering in Texas, its litigation and appellate teams in Washington DC, and a broader tech platform to include transactional capability in Silicon Valley to support its global tech team.
Looking to AI, HSF Kramer has launched Legora firmwide and last October recruited director of practice innovation Ilona Logvinova in New York as its first global chief AI officer.
The firm advised on 240 M&A deals worth $130bn globally in FY26, including high-profile deals such as advising Sky and Comcast on the £1.6bn acquisition of ITV’s media and entertainment business and Engie on its £10.5bn acquisition of UK Power Networks.
On the disputes side, the firm successfully represented Société Générale in a dispute with EuroChem Group and won $1bn for AerCap in a UK High Court, alongside substantial prior settlements relating to aircraft and engine losses in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
