Fueled by a healthy American market and significant growth among Chinese firms, the Global 100 posted a second straight year of major revenue increases, topping 8% as a group. In our annual report on the world's largest law firms, we pay close attention this year to the role that China is playing in the industry's upward trajectory. In our China 45 report, we highlight the fact that even firms toward the bottom of that list are taking big steps forward, and in a piece analyzing the past 10 years of foreign growth among the biggest U.S. firms, China emerges as a key piece of the puzzle.

In addition to the annual rankings based on revenue, profits per equity partner and head count that can be found below, we have a profile of Baker McKenzie, an enormous global firm dealing with a great tragedy in the midst of an effort to overhaul its operations. We also explore the affect on law firm practices of three years of international turmoil, since President Trump's election and the Brexit vote, finding that in many cases, the bad news has been good for business.

Total revenue for the Global 100 increased a vigorous 8.1% over the past year, a step up from 2017's already robust 6.7% growth and a showing that dwarfs the 2.8% and 3.1% growth from the two preceding years. These firms brought in a collective $114.2 billion, more than the 2018 gross domestic product of Ecuador, the 60th largest economy in the world.

Rawlinson's death came as a shock to his industry colleagues and peers—and his firm is still reeling as it continues the mammoth task of preparing for an uncertain world. As Baker McKenzie comes to terms with the short- and long-term effects of Rawlinson's death, it's been forced to carry out a future-proofing mission without the guidance and leadership of the man who drew it up. Can the vision survive?

Any lawyers who once thought the initial upheaval of the Brexit vote and President Trump's election would subside have since learned to expect the unexpected. Yet global firms say they have profited in the last couple of years from clients' increased need for expert counsel to help them deal with it all.