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There are many different and exciting ways to rank law firms. How prestigious are they? How much money are they making? How much do partners earn? How much are associates earning in cash compensation? How big are they?

Yes, size matters, and because the legal profession is obsessed with every single measurable and quantifiable factor law firms have to offer, there’s obviously a ranking for that.

So, which Biglaw firm is the biggest in the European Union?

Law.com International recently released the EU Top 30, its inaugural ranking of the largest law firms in the European Union covering the current calendar year. If you’ve ever wondered about precise law firm headcounts, this is the ranking for you.

These are the 10 largest law firms in the EU, according to Law.com International:

CMS: 2,869 lawyers
DLA Piper: 1,750 lawyers
Hogan Lovells: 1,659 lawyers
Freshfields: 1,314 lawyers
Garrigues: 1,273 lawyers
Baker McKenzie: 1,266 lawyers
Linklaters: 1,254 lawyers
A&O Shearman: 1,201 lawyers
Clifford Chance: 1,147 lawyers
Bird & Bird: 1,069 lawyers

Three of the Top 10 are U.S.-based firms (and No. 8 is a newly merged megafirm, with one legacy firm based in the U.S.). Click here to see the full list of the 30 largest law firms in Europe.

Congratulations to all of these firms for putting the “big” in Biglaw!

The 2024 EU Top 30: Ranking the Largest Law Firms in the European Union by Headcount [Law.com International]

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.