The Lawyer and The American Lawyer have produced a list of the Top 100 law firms globally, ordered by 2006 revenue.

It is no surprise that UK and USA firms lead the pack - with the number one firm - Clifford Chance - grossing £1,030.2 million (around RM6.5 billion).

To give you a flavour of these Top 100, we have listed the Top 10 below:

1. Clifford Chance, £1,030.2m – International law firm (headquartered in the UK)
2. Linklaters, £935.2m – International (UK)
3. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, £884.6m – New York City (USA)
4. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, £882.1m – International (UK)
5. Latham & Watkins, £776.1m – National (USA)
6. Baker & McKenzie, £742.9m – International (USA)
7. Allen & Overy, £736.3m – International (UK)
8. Jones Day, £706.0m – National (USA)
9. Sidley Austin, £617.6m – International (USA)
10. White & Case, £574.7m – International (USA)

The world well known law firm, Clifford Chance has approximately 6,700 employees worldwide (www.cliffordchance.com) which means that each employee contributed on average - £153,761.19 (RM979,731.90). Considering the market value for employees differs vastly from country to country - one can only wonder what one of their employees working in the US is paid compared to one working in Thailand.

The monopoly of UK and US firms could be attributed to the strength of the economies and foreign exchange in the US and the UK, and their expansion into the international market. These countries have well-established higher educational and legal institutions. Furthermore, they have had strong geographical and historical influence globally, compared to other nations.

There were no Asian, Middle Eastern or African firms listed in the Top 100, neither was there any significant presence of European firms and only 5 Australian firms.

Do you know which are the top 10 revenue making law firms in Malaysia? Does having more employees show that they are making more money?