JD Journal » law firm profits

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan Posts Excellent Financial Results

EmploymentCrossing — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:53:05 +0000

Friday brought excellent tidings for the litigators at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. John Quinn, founder and managing partner at the prestigious law firm announcing the firm’s financial success, reported an impressive increase in gross revenue by 31 per cent in 2011. That translates to revenues of over $723 million. The profits per partner also surged by 15 percent to touch the $4.1 million mark. The revenue per lawyer also shot up to $1.4 million showing an increase of 14.2 per cent.

John Quinn attributed the excellent results to revenues generated from contingency fee and other alternative fee arrangements from both the plaintiff and the defense sides. He stated that the firm could never have been able to achieve such financial success just by hourly billing.

Once such instance of fee arrangement reported earlier by The Lawyer was a case in which Quinn took a 20% cut of damages which amounted to $150m.

He also recognized the hard work of all involved in bringing about such excellent results.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, a litigation-only law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, was set up in 1986 by John B. Quinn, Eric Emanuel, David Quinto, and Phyllis Kupferstein. Quinn Emanuel is the first AmLaw 100 firm to have a female name partner.

Revenue and Profits Increase at Cravath

joshua — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:45:29 +0000

Despite the tough economic climate in 2009, Cravath, Swaine & Moore managed to increase its business, the AM Law Daily reports. Revenue at the firm rose to $569 million last year, a seven percent jump from 2008, and profits per partner came in at $2.7 million, an increase of eight percent.

The lone blemish in the report was the firm’s revenue per lawyer, which decreased 1.5 percent to $1.192 million.

Perhaps the most encouraging news for Cravath is it managed the increases without having to cut its workforce. The number of lawyers at the firm increased to 477, an eight percent jump, and the number of equity partners went from 90 to 92, reports AM Law Daily.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore is a general practice firm. Founded in 1819, the firm is headquartered in New York City.

Profits Steady but Revenue Down at Drinker Biddle

joshua — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:45:03 +0000

Gross revenue came in at $373 million at Drinker Biddle & Reath in 2009, a slight decrease from the firm’s 2008 revenue of $382 million. Revenue per lawyer also fell, to $600,000 from $615,000, but profits per partner managed to hold steady at $605,000.

The Legal Intelligencer reports the average compensation for all partners was $538,000, a three percent increase from the previous year. There are 193 equity partners at Drinker Biddle, two fewer than in 2008 and its 72 non-equity partners is one more than the previous year.

There are 619 full-time lawyers, just two fewer than in 2008.

Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP was founded in Philadelphia in 1849. The firm has 12 offices in the US. Its largest offices are in Philadelphia, Chicago, Florham Park, New Jersey, and Washington, DC.

UK Firms Feel the Pinch

joshua — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:58:00 +0000

The top 100 UK firms by revenue dropped saw profits decline by an average of 30% last year, according to a new report out from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The largest decline in income came in the second tier of firms, those listed at #11-25, where partner per partner profits were down by 28%. Firms in the “magic circle”, the top ten, had per partner profits ranging from 850,000 to 1.4 million pounds, which was still a 21% drop from last year.