Clifford Chance (CC) has elected 32 lawyers to partner in a global promotions round that nudges the firm closer to its targets for gender equality. 

The latest round – slightly smaller than last year’s 42-strong cohort, its largest since 2007 – includes 12 women, or 38% of the total. That’s slightly less than last year, when women made up 41% of the group, but nevertheless sees the firm maintain its five-year rolling average of 37% of new partners being women. 

It also sees CC stay on track to meet its target to have its global partnership, which as of last summer was 23.4% female, increase to at least 40% female by 2030. 

The round was also diverse in terms of ethnicity, with 38.5% of the 14 new US and UK partners that disclosed ethnicity identifying as under-represented minority ethnic, a result that saw the firm exceed its target of 15% for the third year running.

Like last year, the UK and Europe received the bulk of the promotions, with nine made up in London, four in Frankfurt, two apiece in Paris, Brussels and Luxembourg and one in Amsterdam, Milan and Warsaw. 

In the US four partners got the nod in NY and another in Washington DC, with the rest of the promotions going to lawyers in Hong Kong (two), Tokyo (two) and Abu Dhabi (one). 

In terms of practice area, corporate and global financial markets once again dominated, welcoming 12 and 10 partners respectively. Litigation and dispute resolution saw six lawyers made up, tax, pension and employment three and the final promotion was handed out to construction lawyer Innamal Laher in Abu Dhabi. 

Charles Adams, Clifford Chance global managing partner, commented: "These new partners demonstrate Clifford Chance's commitment to invest in and promotel talent. They will help us to focus on areas which will deliver outstanding results for our clients and shape our future as one of the world's premier global firms."

CC’s diversity efforts over the past year have extended to hiring the BBC’s former creative diversity lead, Nina Goswami, as its first UK head of inclusion. The firm also added consultant Charles Alberts from insurance giant Aon last summer as its first global head of wellbeing and employee experience. 

Alongside the promotions, the firm has added 24 partners over the past year through lateral hires, including Norton Rose Fulbright’s global technology co-head in Singapore and a funds partner in Hong Kong from Kirkland & Ellis. The firm has also been busily building its US insurance practice, adding partners from Mayer Brown and Sidley Austin and a counsel from Debevoise & Plimpton in New York. 

CC reported last summer that it grew revenue 8% to 1.97bn in the year to 30 April 2022 against a 10% rise in profit per equity partner (PEP) to £2.04m, a figure that saw it overtake magic circle rival Allen & Overy in terms of PEP. 

The promotions take effect 1 May 2023. The new partners are:

Julia Baedorff, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Frankfurt

Diego Ballon Ossio, Global Financial Markets, London

Andrius Bielinis, Tax, Pensions & Employment, Frankfurt

Michael Brown, Global Financial Markets, London

James Cashier, Corporate, London

James Cranston, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, London

Chris David, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, London

Mariana Estévez, Global Financial Markets, New York

Irena Floras-Goode, Global Financial Markets, Warsaw

Julie Fu, Corporate, Hong Kong

Peter Harris, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Tokyo

Filippo Isacco, Corporate, Milan

Inaamul Laher, Construction, Abu Dhabi

Charlotte Leung, Global Financial Markets, Hong Kong

Vishal Mashru, Corporate, London

Rebecca O'Brien, Global Financial Markets, New York

Rebecca Pereira, Tax, Pensions & Employment, New York

Moritz Petersen, Corporate, Frankfurt

John-Patrick Powers, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Washington DC

Riaz Pirmohamed, Corporate, London

Marie Preat, Corporate, Paris

Simon Reitz, Global Financial Markets, Frankfurt

Milena Robotham, Corporate, Brussels

Drew Rundus, Global Financial Markets, London

Ada Schmitt, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Luxembourg

Yoshiaki Shimizu, Global Financial Markets, Tokyo

Boudewijn Vermeer, Global Financial Markets, Amsterdam

Patrice Viaene, Corporate, Brussels

Stavroula Vryna, Corporate, London

Matthew Warner, Corporate, New York

Ekaterina Zaboussova-Celsa, Tax, Pensions & Employment, Paris

Oliver Zwick, Corporate, Luxembourg