Clifford Chance's (CC) recovery picked up pace in 2011-12, holding its position as the UK's largest law firm in revenue terms. It reached turnover of £1.303bn for 2011-12, and saw profit per equity partner (PEP) rise 7% to £1.078m.

The figures are CC's highest since 2008 and make the firm the strongest performer this year among London's big four.

It cements a much-needed comeback after a period in which CC's post-Lehman troubles were so severe that questions were raised about its status as one of the City's elite firms.

This was most pronounced during 2008-09, when CC's financial institutions client base was badly hit by the banking crisis. This resulted in a 5% fall in revenues, while PEP plunged 37% to £733,000 – not much more than half that of rivals Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters at the time.

CC's plight was further hampered by continued problems in its US arm, a relatively underweight corporate practice and a governance structure that made it difficult to push through major changes in direction.

After protracted discussions, CC agreed a deal to cut its global partnership by 18% during 2009-10, helping the firm to regroup.

Though CC quickly stabilised – in 2010-11, it managed to push PEP back through the psychologically-charged £1m mark – it was not until the latest financial year that clear signs of recovery unquestionably materialised, on the back of a robust 18-month run of big-ticket deals.

This month, Mergermarket put CC at the top of global M&A rankings for the first half of 2012 after it acted on mandates including Glencore's proposed $53.4bn (£34.2bn) merger with mining giant Xstrata and pharmaceutical group Pfizer's $11.9bn (£7.6bn) sale of its baby food business to Swiss giant Nestle.

The Asia-Pacific region was a standout growth area for CC this year, growing 28% to £185m to account for 14% of its total business. The firm is expanding in the region this year as it gears up to launch in South Korea – earlier this month, it became the first UK firm to gain approval to open a Seoul office from the Korean Ministry of Justice.

The past two years also saw CC begin investing again in earnest – notably in early 2011, when it secured a well-received deal to launch in Australia via the takeover of boutiques Cochrane Lishman Carson Luscombe and Chang Pistilli & Simmons.

Though there have been reverses – most notably the loss of a four-partner private equity funds team last summer to Weil Gotshal & Manges – for the first time since the boom years, CC can point to a period of forward momentum.

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