Bird & Bird: Growth and Innovation of an International Law Firm Renowned for Technology

Bird & Bird, commonly known as Two Birds, is a truly international law firm. Founded in London in 1846, this 178-year-old firm now boasts 32 offices worldwide and over 1,600 lawyers and legal practitioners.

Renowned for Technology

Bird & Bird’s practice areas cover the full spectrum of economic and corporate law, including commercial, corporate, EU and competition law, intellectual property, dispute resolution, employment, finance, and real estate matters. While its intellectual property practice was particularly strong in the early stages of the firm’s growth, recent years have seen Bird & Bird excel in technology, IP protection, data regulation, and in technological and digital sectors such as life sciences, renewable energy, and aerospace.

The firm’s intellectual property practice was historically so significant that it had its own office on Fetter Lane. However, in 2016, all Bird & Bird lawyers moved into a purpose-built office, uniting the firm under one roof.

International Expansion

Between 1996 and 2002, under the leadership of CEO David Kerr, the firm underwent a significant transformation, driven primarily by international expansion. From 2000 to 2005, Bird & Bird established offices in Paris, Stockholm, The Hague, Madrid, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Rome, Milan, and Beijing. This expansion continued between 2005 and 2010 with new offices in Lyon, Bratislava, Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Helsinki, and Shanghai. In 2017, the firm entered the US market with a launch in San Francisco.

New Five-Year Strategic Plan

Since 2009, Bird & Bird’s revenue has grown by 111%, from £186.3 million to £303.2 million. The number of lawyers nearly doubled, while the number of partners increased by 51%. Despite these impressive figures, the firm’s average revenue per lawyer and partner has seen only modest growth. Moreover, Bird & Bird’s profit margin has remained below 20% over the past decade, leading to some dissatisfaction with Kerr’s leadership.

In 2022, Christian Bartsch was elected as the new CEO. Bartsch introduced a five-year strategic plan aimed at reaching €1 billion in revenue by 2029. This plan, developed through over 40 global workshops, reflects the firm’s ambitions, including increasing the proportion of female partners to 30% and significantly reducing the firm’s carbon footprint.

In the most recent financial year ending April 2023, Bird & Bird recorded a global revenue of €568.7 million. The firm opened a new office in Shenzhen in 2023 and plans to launch an office in Tokyo by the end of 2024. Bird & Bird has seen growth across all practice areas, particularly in transactional work. The firm’s revenue and profit margins have also shown positive trends, indicating that its five-year strategy is on track.