JD Journal » profits per partner drop

Revenue, Profits Take a Tumble at Howrey

joshua — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:28:12 +0000

It was a rough year financially for Howrey in 2009. The firm’s gross revenue declined to $480 million last year, a decrease of 16.3 percent from $573.2 million in 2008. Profits per partner also took a precipitous drop. PPP came in at $846,053 in 2009 as compared to $1.299 million in ’08, a drop of 34.9 percent. Revenue per lawyer fell 19.2 percent to $702,782.

Earlier this month, CEO Bob Ruyak announced in an email that there was not enough work available for all attorneys and staff and that layoffs would be forthcoming. Initial reports had the number of layoffs at 100, though it couldn’t be confirmed.

Howrey was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Its major areas of practice include antitrust law, intellectual property law and global litigation. The firm has over 700 attorneys and offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, London, Munich, Taipei and several other locations.

Pinsent PPP Down, Confirms Layoffs

Erik Even — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:31:01 +0000

Pinsent Masons saw profits per partner plummet 36%, falling to £310,000 ($511,000).

Revenues were up 1% to £215 million ($355 million) in the last fiscal year.

The firm announced a redundancy consultation in June, and now confirms that 20 lawyers and staff will be let go. Pinsent Masons has also implemented sabbaticals and four-day weeks at 80% pay.

Pinsent Masons LLP is a full-service commercial law firm. The firm ranked amongst the top 15 law firms in the UK and internationally ranks in the Global 100. Pinsent Masons has UK offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Manchester, and internationally in Beijing, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Bird & Bird Sees 30% Rise in Revenue

Erik Even — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:32:36 +0000

Bucking the trend of law firms suffering drops in revenue, Bird & Bird saw revenues rise by 29.6% in the last fiscal year.

The firm reported gross revenue of £186.3 million ($303.4 million) in fiscal 2008-09, up from £143.7 million ($234.07 million) in 2007-08.

PPP fell 6.5% to £481,000 pounds ($783,500).

The firm expanded quite a bit in 2008, merging with Lane & Partners and and expanding its footprint in Eastern Europe.

Founded in 1846, Bird & Bird is an international law firm with over 200 partners. It has offices in Beijing, Bratislava, Brussels, Budapest, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, The Hague, Helsinki, Hong Kong, London, Lyon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Prague, Rome, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm, and Warsaw.

Herbert Smith Sees Profits Plummet

Erik Even — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:05:25 +0000

City of London law firm Herbert Smith saw profits fall 22% in 2008, plummeting below £1 million ($1.65 million).

Partners will see earnings drop from £1.04 million to between as low as £808,000 ($1.33 million) for financial 2008-09.

The firm made a profit last year.

Herbert Smith in April announced a redundancy consultation at its London HQ, targeting 84 positions; but no one was fired after staff members signed on for voluntary redundancy or alternative working arrangements.

Herbert Smith was founded in the City of London in 1882 by Norman Herbert Smith, and today has 230 partners and 1,200 fee-earners. It is widely considered to be the UK’s leading litigation practice.

Allens Arthur Robinson Freezes Pay, Offers Voluntary Redundancies

Erik Even — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:41:06 +0000

Allens Arthur Robinson will institute pay freezes July 1st, and is offering up to one year’s pay to lawyers who take voluntary redundancies.

The amount paid out for those who choose to leave will depend on seniority and years with the firm.

Allens also plans to shuffle remaining lawyers between practices.

The firm has no plans for involuntary layoffs, and will not cut its incoming associate class. It will, however, cut partners’ profit shares.

Allens Arthur Robinson is a commercial law firm in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region generally, it is considered to be one of the top commercial law firms.

Allens has staff based in 14 cities and eight countries across the region, including Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Melbourne, Perth, Phnom Penh, Port Moresby, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney. It is one of the largest law firms in the Asia Pacific region, with almost 200 partners and more than 1500 personnel.

Debevoise Reports Revenue Up

Erik Even — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:20:08 +0000

New York’s Debevoise & Plimpton announced that its 2008 gross revenue climbed 7.2%, while profits per partner fell nearly 3%.

Revenue grew to $760.8 million, but profits per partner dropped to $2.23 million.

The drop-off in profitability followed declines at other New York-based firms, such as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Sullivan & Cromwell; and Davis Polk & Wardwell. Only a few, such as Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Weil, Gotshal & Manges, have posted positive results.

Debevoise’s profits per partner dropped in part because the firm had more equity partners in 2008. The firm’s overall income actually increased 1.3% last year to $318 million. But the number of equity partners also increased.

Revenue per lawyer inched up slightly by less than 1% to $1.2 million.

The firm cut associate bonuses in December, after Cravath, Swaine & Moore set the market floor at $17,500 for a first-year associate bonus.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a prominent international law firm based in New York City. Founded in 1931 by Eli Whitney Debevoise and William Stevenson, the firm currently employs about 680 lawyers in eight offices throughout the world.

Hogan & Hartson’s Revenue and Profits Down

Erik Even — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:53:53 +0000

Hogan & Hartson’s revenue and profits fell flat in 2008, after a record year in 2007.

The firm’s gross revenue rose 4.8% to $922.5 million, but the firm’s revenue per lawyer fell 2% to $833,000. Hogan’s profits per partner fell 1.69% to $1.17 million.

In 2007, the firm reported gross revenues of $880 million and profits per partner of $1.19 million.

The boom in business in 2007 was driven largely by merger & acquisition work, which fell off dramatically at the end of 2008.

Hogan gained 7% in total lawyer headcount in 2008, up to 1,107.

This month the firm offered voluntary buyouts to 240 staff members.

Hogan has also pushed back the start date for this year’s incoming associate class to November 30th.

Founded in 1904, Hogan & Hartson is the oldest major law firm headquartered in Washington, DC. It is a global firm with more than 1,100 lawyers in 27 offices worldwide, including offices in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Via BLT.

Revenue, Profits Down at Stroock & Stroock

Erik Even — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:52:10 +0000

The Am Law 100′s Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, a firm with about 75% of its 750 lawyers in New York, saw profits per partner drop by 8.6%, to $1,185,000 last year.

Stroock’s gross revenue dropped 6.7% to $270 million, a larger drop than most firms.

Stroock has added several recent laterals, including a four-lawyer intellectual property group from Jenner & Block.

The firm has carefully managed expenses, canceling its holiday party, limiting travel when possible, and trimming head count from 369 to 350. The firm is not ruling out layoffs or salary freezes for 2009.

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP is based in New York City, with approximately 350 lawyers in three offices, the other two being Miami and Los Angeles. It was founded in 1876.