JD Journal » profits per partner

Patton Boggs’ Profits and Revenue Show Slight Increase

marvins — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:29:55 +0000

Patton Boggs, a premiere international law firm with more than 600 lawyers, announced that the firm registered a slight uptick in its revenue for 2010. Patton Boggs confirmed that both revenue per lawyer (RPL) and profits per partner (PPP) have increased by 5%, from $840,000 to $884,000. The firm’s gross revenue also showed a slight upward movement, rising by 1.6% to $337.3 million.

Patton Boggs attributed the movement to the decrease in number of lawyers at the firm. In 2010, about 15 lawyers and 10 partners departed from the firm. As of today, Patton Boggs now has 527 associates and 116 partners.

Edward Newberry, Managing partner at Patton, added that the profits and revenue increase were also caused by the firm’s strong and steady performance in its largest practice area- litigation. Newberry explained that the firm’s litigation practice accounted for over 42% of Patton’s total revenue for 2010.

Patton Boggs, founded in 1962, now operates in the following nine locations in the US: Washington, DC, New York City, Newark, Anchorage, Dallas, Denver, Northern Virginia. The firm has additional offices in the United Arab Emirates, specifically in Doha, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The firm focuses on litigation, public policy, business, intellectual property, international and trade law.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:54:17 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Friday, July 2nd. Here’s a quick recap of yesterday’s stories.

According to Hildebrandt Baker Robbins, leading consultants to the legal industry, law firm merger activity picked up during the second quarter…

Profits per partner were up 10 Percent at Allen & Overy…

Baker Botts’ Robert W. Jordan, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, returned as partner in charge of the firm’s Middle East offices…

The Los Angeles based firm Munger Tolles & Olson placed for the third year running at the top of the American Lawyer A-List…

Francis P. Barron, a partner from Cravath, Swaine and Moore, joined Morgan Stanley as its chief legal officer…

Profits Per Partner Up 10 Percent at Allen & Overy

joshua — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:46:51 +0000

Allen & Overy reported this week that its profits per partner increased 10 percent to $1.7 million for the year-period ending April 30. Additionally, the firm announced it was opening an office in Indonesia in association with the Jakarta-based Daniel Ginting law firm.

The Indonesia office gives London-based Allen & Overy a presence in 26 countries through 36 offices.

The firm said it had revenue of $1.6 billion for the year, which is down 4 percent from the previous year. The number of equity partners in the firm fell by 39 to 450 and the firm’s overall profit fell less than 1 percent.

Managing partner Wim Dejonghe praised the performance of the firm in a press release.

“We have made strategic choices to secure future growth, and in doing so have built resilience into our business, enhanced our global reach and diversified our practice area mix,” Dejonghe said.

Allen & Overy’s banking, litigation, regulatory, restructuring and emerging markets practices were the strongest in the past year, the firm said. Allen & Overy is based in London and has over 2,000 attorneys.

Revenue Down But Profits Up at Stevens & Lee

joshua — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:19:27 +0000

Gross revenue declined to $108.6 million at Stevens & Lee in 2009, a 1 percent decrease from the $109.7 million the firm took in in 2008. According to the Legal Intelligencer, profits per equity partner managed a 4.6 percent increase last year to $905,000 from $865,000 in ’08.

The report cited a decrease in the firm’s “core corporate practices” as the catalyst for the dip in gross revenue. Revenue per lawyer also fell nearly 6 percent in ’09 to $635,000 from $675,000 the previous year, which was thanks in large part to the firm continuing to bring on lateral hires.

According to the Legal Intelligencer, Stevens & Lee had 171 lawyers in ’09, including 62 equity partners.

Firm President Ernie Choquette said in the report that the firm is looking to expand this year.

“What we are seeing is the large buyers of legal services are now understanding that a lot of the midsized firms…can provide the same quality of service that the top 100 (firms) can provide (but) at a better value metric,” Choquette said.

Stevens & Lee was founded in 1928 and has 13 offices throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

Morning Roundup

sara — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 10:43:13 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, March 31, and here’s a look back at yesterday’s news…

The illustrious history of the recess appointment is explained after President Obama makes 15 of them…

The law offices of Derek K. Yu go paperless in March…

Lovells plans to close it’s Chicago office later in the year…

McKool Smith wins more than100 top verdicts for the second year in a row….

Willie Shepherd, formerly of Kamlet Shepherd and Reichert LLP, lied about diversity statistics at his firm and receives a $127.50 fine…

Ogletree Deakins opens a new office in Minneapolis….

Carter G. Phillips of Sidley Austin is named one of the decade’s most influential lawyers by The National Law Journal…

Gross revenue and profits per partner drop at Foley & Lardner…

A former Arnold & Porter partner who pleaded guilty to tax evasion and conspiracy charges is sentenced…

Three former and current female employees of Bank of America and it’s Merrill Lynch division sue the bank claiming the company engages in gender biased and discriminatory practices …

Pope Benedict XVI invokes the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act…

Foley & Lardner Had Tough Year in ’09

joshua — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:57:54 +0000

The recession seems to have taken its toll on Foley & Lardner. The firm saw its gross revenue fall to $667 million last year, a decrease of 8.8 percent, and profits per partner fell to $586,000, a decrease of 7.9 percent.

Firm Chairman Ralf-Reinhard Boer told the AM Law Daily “we’re glad 2009 is behind us” and that business has increased across all practice areas since the start of the year.

“It was a tough year for the industry and a tough year for us,” Boer said. “Things are perking up pretty much.”

According to the report, the positive news for Foley & Lardner was limited to its bankruptcy and renewable energy practices. The biggest hits came in IP and IP litigation, securities and white-collar litigation.

Foley & Lardner LLP is an international general practice law firm started in 1842 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It employs 1,000 attorneys in 21 offices and 60 practice groups, and is the 24th largest firm in the United States.

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.

Revenue Down but Profits Rise at Milbank

joshua — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:28:35 +0000

Profits per equity partner managed to increase five percent at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCoy in 2009 despite a slight drop in gross revenue.

AM Law Daily reports the firm’s revenue decreased to $601.5 million last year, while profits per equity partner increased to $2.23 million and revenue per lawyer was up five percent to $1.126 million. The number of partners in the firm fell from 145 to 140.

Chairman Mel Immergut told AM Law Daily the firm was happy with the results, especially after a tough first-half of the year that saw Milbank layoff 49 associates and 40 staff.

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy is based in New York City and has offices in Washington DC, Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing. The firm has approximately 550 lawyers.

Weil Gotshal Weathers Down Economy

joshua — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:55:37 +0000

Gross revenue was virtually unchanged and profits per partner increased slightly on a year-over-year basis at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in 2009. The firm reported gross revenue of $1,233,054,282 in 2009, which barely betters the previous year’s mark of $1,230,801,620.

Profits per equity partner improved to $2,314,723 from $2,273,802, but revenue per lawyer declined slightly to $1,017,372 from $1,034,287.

Weil Gotshal is headquartered in New York City and has offices throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. It was placed under new leadership in December when Barry Wolf was named executive partner, replacing Stephen Dannhauser.

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.

Revenue and PPP Increases at Jackson Lewis

sara — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:15:12 +0000

Gross revenue increased by 10% to $256.5 million at Jackson Lewis in 2009 and profits per partner increased by 3.3% to $534,000. Revenue per lawyer at the firm decreased 3% from $491,658 in 2008 to a little less than $477,000 in 2009. Full head count at the firm was up in 2009 to around 600 as a result of several lateral hires including the recent arrival of 4 DLA Piper partners who joined Jackson Lewis’s new Baltimore office.

Founded in 1958, Jackson Lewis specializes in workplace law including employment litigation, affirmative action, race, gender and age discrimination, sexual harassment, preventive labor relations, union avoidance, collective bargaining, pension and benefit administration, class action litigation, wage and hour, collective bargaining and grievance arbitration. The firm has 45 locations throughout the United States which includes offices in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Hartford, Dallas, Miami and Philadelphia.

Revenue Down at Winston & Strawn

sara — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:07:19 +0000

Revenue declined at Winston & Strawn in 2009 while profits remained flat. Gross revenue decreased by 5%, roughly $40 million. Profits per partner remained steady at $1.283 million and the number of equity partners (184) at the firm did not decrease either. Revenue per lawyer decreased 2.6% to $835,824. To absorb decreasing revenues the firm trimmed its bonus pool and both associates and non-equity partners took compensation hits in 2009. The average compensation for non-equity partners at Winston & Strawn declined by 14.5%. There was also a drop in non-equity partners from 210 to 197 last year. Overall headcount decreased by 3% to 843 lawyers.

Founded in 1853, Winston & Strawn is a Chicago based firm with offices worldwide including Beijing, Charlotte, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Newark, New York, Paris, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Morning Roundup

sara — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:06:02 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Tuesday, March 2, and here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s news…

Revenue and profits are down, while PPP is up at Dickstein Shapiro…

Steptoe & Johnson open a new office in Beijing…

According to Am Law Daily’s “Diversity Scorecard” diversity at major law firms declined in 2009…

The NALP settles on a heavily scaled back recruitment plan…

Kaye Scholer opens a new office in Silicon Valley…

Hogan & Hartson’s Warsaw office moves to K&L Gates…

Revenue Decreases at DLA Piper

sara — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:32:15 +0000

DLA Piper reports that gross revenue declined by almost 14% in 2009 to just over a billion dollars. Revenue per lawyer and profits per partner decreased only 5%, due to reductions in the firm’s head count. The headcount fell by 89 associates (11.6%), 24 equity partners (10.1%), and 16 non-equity partners (4.3%), for a total loss of 129 lawyers (9.3%). Firm chairman Frank Burch said that DLA “weathered the economic storm well…and our overall performance during this period was solid.” Burch said that the firm broadly cut expenses and improved its balance sheet by increasing its reliance on paid-in partner capital while attracting high profile laterals.

DLA Piper is one of the world’s largest international law firms. It has over 3,500 attorneys in 67 locations globally.

Morning Roundup

sara — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:50:07 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Friday, February 26, and here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s news…

A judge ordered the shutdown of debt settlement firm Allegro Law LLC…

Motley Rice LLC and Burke PLLC have joined forces to pursue claims for clients in the Kellogg, Brown, and Root, Inc., Burn Pit multidistrict litigation…

Jeff Roberts joins Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s London office as a partner…

Loretta Lau has joined Goodwin Procter’s Hong Kong office as a corporate finance partner…

Steve Betensky resigns as chair of White & Case’s global information technology practice…

Revenue and profits improve at Wiley Rein…

McGuireWoods sees increases in profits per partner and gross revenues but declines in net profits and revenue per lawyer…

McGuireWoods Posts Mixed Results in ’09

joshua — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:29:17 +0000

There was mixed news on the financial front for McGuireWoods in 2009. Gross revenue and profits per equity partner (PPP) managed to increase last year, but net profits and revenue per lawyer suffered slight drops.

The firm reported gross revenue of $509 million last year, an increase of 6.7 percent from the $477 million registered in 2008. PPP came in at $801,028, a 6.2 percent increase from $754,226 the previous year. PPP managed to rise because of a decline in the number of equity partners from 192 to 175.

The number of lawyers at the firm rose to 856, thanks in large part to its acquisition of London-based Grundberg Mocatta Rakison.

McGuireWoods is an international firm with 18 offices around the world.

Revenue Declines Slightly at Arent Fox

joshua — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:46:14 +0000

2009 looks a lot like 2008 at Arent Fox where revenue fell slightly to $216.5 million from the previous year’s $222.5 million. Profits per partner came in at $800,000, the same as in 2008, and revenue per lawyer was $690,000, a slight drop from 2008. The firm finished the year with the same number of partners as it had in 2008, but kept per partner profits flat despite a slight dip in revenue by cutting 5% from its expense budget and prepaying some 2009 expenses in 2008.

The real estate practice took a hit in 2009 but the decline in real estate law was balanced out by a strong showing in litigation, particularly within the IP practice group.

Arent Fox has nearly 350 attorneys with offices in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and New York.

Profits, Revenue Up at Jenner & Block

joshua — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:35:57 +0000

Jenner & Block reported gross revenue of $367 million in 2009, a 6 percent increase from the previous year. Profits per partner jumped 33 percent to $1.1 million and revenue per lawyer was up 8 percent to $855,000. Per partner profits showed a markedly stronger increase than revenues in part because the firm dropped down to 128 partners, a decline of 17%.

Last year Jenner & Block opened a new office in Los Angeles, and the firm says it plans to continue its expansion this year, particularly in terms of hiring more laterals.

Jenner & Block has around 450 attorneys with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

Revenue, Profits Get a Boost at Crowell & Moring

joshua — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:34:36 +0000

Crowell & Moring reported 2009 gross revenue of $296 million – a 14.5 percent jump from 2008’s $339 million – and profits per partner rose to $1.01 million last year, a 9.9 percent increase from 2008’s $996,765.

Revenue per lawyer increased by nine percent to $809,231 and net compensation to equity partners rose 17.7 percent to $102.9 million. The firm added six equity partners last year and its attorney roster rose to 418.95 from 399.43.

Crowell & Moring is an international law firm with offices in Washington D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Orange County, Anchorage, London and Brussels.

Revenue Down and Profits Up at Patton Boggs

sara — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:49:49 +0000

Patton Boggs reported a decrease in gross revenues in 2009. In 2008 the firm’s gross revenue was $348.5 million, declining to $332 million last year. Profits per equity partner increased 3.7% to $840,000. Equity partner head count decreased by 3 lawyers to 116, while the number of lawyers increased 2.7% to 532. Managing partner Stuart Pape reported that the firm’s 2008 figures included a $20 million contingency, accounting for a portion of the boost in revenue that year. If it were removed from the report the firm’s gross revenue would have been reported as increasing by about 1% in 2009 instead of decreasing. Revenue per lawyer was also impacted by the 2008 contingency, resulting in a decline in 2009 by 7.4%, from $675,000 to $625,000.

Founded in 1962, Patton Boggs is a Washington, D.C. based firm with over 500 lawyers in 9 additional locations including New York City, Newark, Anchorage, Dallas, Denver, Northern Virginia, Doha, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.

Revenue Drops at Paul Hastings

sara — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:35:16 +0000

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker reported that revenues fell to $889 million in 2009, a decrease of 9.8%. Profits per partner also decreased 1.4% from $1.9 million in 2008 to $1.87 million. Head count decreased by 13.7% last year and revenue per lawyer increased by 4.4%, from $930,000 in 2008 to $969,500 in 2009. Paul Hastings real estate practice was down almost 30% in 2009, with its New York Office suffering the largest decline. Litigation revenue for the firm increased in 2009.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker has more than 1,100 attorneys in 18 offices including Atlanta, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo and Shanghai. The firm was founded in 1951.

Greenberg Traurig Has Steady Year

sara — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:34:11 +0000

2009 was a steady fiscal year for law firm Greenberg Traurig. Gross revenues decreased 2.9% to $1.17 billion. Profits per equity partner increased 0.15 of a percent to $1.311 million. The compensation pool for non-equity partners increased 3.94% to $222 million. The number of non-equity partners working at the firm increased more than 10% to 585. The total number of partners increased from 824 to 877. Greenberg opened two new offices in London and White Plains, New York, which accounts for the growth in partners.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Miami Florida, Greenberg Traurig has approximately 1,800 lawyers in 35 offices around the world.

Morning Roundup

sara — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:30:01 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Thursday, February 11, and here’s a look back at yesterday’s stories…

The American Bar Association will reduce the cost of annual dues for solo and public interest lawyers…

GM’s Rod Gillum has joined Jackson Lewis…

Law firm Ruden McClosky is not dissolving despite several departures…

Revenues are up and profits per partner are down at Perkins Coie…

Revenues are down and profits per partner are up at Buchanan…

Harvard Law has launched the Public Service Venture Fund to assist new graduates…

Revenues are up at Barnes & Thornburg…

Revenues Down, PPP up at Buchanan

sara — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:39:34 +0000

Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney reported a 3% drop in revenues and overall profits in 2009. The number of partners declined to 101 from 109. The number of lawyers employed by the firm decreased 10% to 439 from 487. Profits per equity partner and revenue per lawyer both increased by 5%. CEO and chair John Barbour attributes the increases to administrative cost-cutting, reduced associate compensation and the departures of some less productive lawyers. Buchanan’s real estate practice was impacted the most, with 6 lawyers leaving in 2009.

Founded in 1850, Pittsburgh based firm Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney is a general practice firm with approximately 500 attorneys and 16 offices including San Diego, Washington, D.C., Miami, New York and Philadelphia.

Revenues Up, PPP down at Perkins Coie

sara — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:29:08 +0000

Perkins Coie reported that its profits increased to $433 million or 2.06%, in 2009, but profits per equity partner decreased a quarter of a percentage to $802,111. Revenue per lawyer also declined to $646,295 or 1.28%. Real estate and transactional business declined but managing partner Robert Giles believes the firm had a “flat year” offset by a great deal of activity in its litigation and intellectual property practice. Giles also believe that cost cutting helped the firm. 8% was cut from the firm’s budget by delaying technology and infrastructure upgrades, allowing staff to reduce their work hours and laying off 12 attorneys and staff members in April.

Founded in 1912, Perkins Coie is a Seattle based firm with 700 attorneys. The firm has 15 offices internationally including Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Beijing, Denver, Shanghai, San Francisco, Portland, Phoenix, Menlo Park, Madison, Boise, Bellevue, and Anchorage.

Revenue, Profits Up at Cozen O’Connor

joshua — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:40:46 +0000

There were apparently few signs of a recession at Cozen O’Connor in 2009. The firm Monday reported signifcant increases in gross revenue, profits per equity partner and revenue per lawyer.

Gross revenue jumped 22 percent to $290 million in ’09, profits per partner were up 19 percent to $650,000 and revenue per lawyer was up 11 percent to $575,000. The jump in revenue was due in large part to the firm adding almost 70 lawyers from Wolf Block, which went out of business.

Cozen O’Connor CEO Tad Decker also told Business Journal the firm earned additional revenue through a one-time contingent fee in a commercial litigation case. He added even without the fee, revenue would have been up close to 10 percent.

The firm currently has about 550 lawyers, which is a 10 percent increase from the beginning of 2009.

“We are obviously very pleased with our results despite this year’s adverse business climate,” Decker told Business Journal. “I credit our success to the balance and diversity of our practice groups and the hiring of some outstanding laterals.”

Cozen O’Connor was founded in 1970 and has offices in 23 cities on two continents.

Dorsey & Whitney Report Decline in Revenue and Profits

sara — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:10:54 +0000

Dorsey & Whitney reported that revenue dropped 6.85% to $341,917,000 and profits per partner dropped 7.1% to $613,984 in 2009. The firm increased its non equity partners by 17% to 75. These additions caused a 16% increase in compensation for non equity partners to $25,459,300. Revenue per lawyer dropped 8.7% to $573,686.

Dorsey hired five bankruptcy and restructuring partners in Salt Lake City last March. The firm hired in the Palo Alto, New York, Minneapolis and London offices and opened an office in Sydney last April. The firm also recruited 40 or associates in the fall of 2009. Dorsey cut 8% of the firm’s expenses in 2009 and laid off 55 staff member last June.

Dorsey & Whitney is a global law firm based in Minneapolis. Founded in 1912, the firm has around 677 attorneys and 19 offices in North America, Europe and Asia.

Revenues Up and Profits Down at Bryan Cave

sara — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:56:12 +0000

St. Louis based firm Bryan Cave reported an increase in revenue from $502,509,000 in 2008 to $554,817,000 in 2009 (10.41%). The increase is partly explained by the firm’s growth from 861 lawyers in 2008 to about 996 in 2009. The growth pushed revenue per lawyer down 4.49%, from $583,363 in 2008 to $557,257 in 2009. Profits per partner dropped 5.51%, to $622,579.

Bryan Cave cut costs in various ways throughout 2009. This included a lay off of 134 employees last February (including 58 attorneys or 5% of its lawyers) and 76 staffers. The firm also offered some incoming associates up to $70,000 to walk away from first year positions that had been offered. In June of last year all associate salaries were cut by 10%.

Bryan Cave is an international general practice law firm with 25 offices worldwide. The firm was founded in 1873 and has approximately 1200 attorneys.

Hughes Hubbard Increased Revenues and Profits for 2009

joshua — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:04:52 +0000

2009 was a bad year for the economy and the legal sector took its share of licks, but there are success stories as well. Hughes Hubbard & Reed had a 10% increase in gross revenues in 2009, from $251.8 million to $277 million. Profits per partner jumped by 9.7%, from $1.34 to $1.47 million. Associates also did well, earning above market bonuses and getting salaries restored to pre thaw levels.

The strong earnings were led by work done for Lehman Brothers during its liquidation and and strong year for its product liability practice.

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, an international law firm based in New York, is ranked number one in New York and number two nationally on The American Lawyer’s A-List of the “top firms among the nation’s legal elite.” AmLaw also ranked the firm #4 in “Top Growth Firms” among the nation’s 200 largest firms over the last 10 years.

Quinn Emanuel Reports Decline in Revenue & PPP in 2009

sara — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:32:32 +0000

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges reported a 6% decline in profits per partner for 2009 with the firm’s 388 partners averaging $3.1 million in profits. In 2008 Quinn Emanuel reported an average of $3.3 million in profits per partner. Revenues declined 5%, from $442 million to $420 million. Revenue per lawyer dropped from $1.1 million to $1 million.

William Urquhart believes the declines can be attributed to a lagging first quarter. After a packed final half of 2008, the firm saw billable hours suddenly drop as important cases were settled or concluded. Urquhart says the workload began to pick up in the second quarter of 2009.

Quinn Emanuel was founded in 1986 by John B. Quinn. It is headquartered in Los Angeles with other offices in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, Chicago, Tokyo and London. The firm has 400 lawyers and focuses on business litigation. In 2008 Quinn Emanuel had the third highest profits per partner in the Am Law 100.

Profits per Partner up 7% at Wilmer Hale

joshua — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:49:02 +0000

After a rocky first half of the year, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr posted a seven percent per partner profit increase last year, going from $1.08 million to $1.16 million. Total firm revenue was down slightly overall, but so was the partner headcount at 318, down from 330. The number of associates was up, despite mid year layoffs.

According to the firm, revenues in the first half of the year were down but made a strong recovery in the second half of the year, lead by the IP practice group which had a 10% growth in business. Also doing well were the bankruptcy practice and the anti-trust practice.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP has twelve offices across the US, Europe and Asia. It was created in 2004 through the merger of the Boston’s Hale & Dorr and the Washington’s Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, and employs a little under 1000 attorneys worldwide.

What Recession? K&L Gates Tops $1 Billion in Revenue

joshua — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:12:11 +0000

Unemployment is hovering at just over 10%, some states have seen home foreclosure rates as high as 25%, the economy continues to shed jobs, law firms are slashing salaries, retail sales continue to drop, but someone forgot to mention all of this to Pittsburgh based K&L Gates.

K&L Gates is one of the first major firms to report its 2009 revenues and the picture it paints stands in stark contrast to the doom and gloom on the nightly news. Revenues for the firm were up 8% to $1.034 billion and profits per partner were up by 1%.

The growth was driven by K&L Gates aggressive expansion which included the March merger will Bell Boyd & Lloyd, and new offices overseas in Singapore, Frankfurt and Dubai. Although the firm laid off 36 associates in March, overall the attorney nose count grew by approximately 150 to just over 1,700 total.

Linklaters Profit Up to $2.13 Billion

Erik Even — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:17:49 +0000

Linklaters, which announced in April salary cuts for starting lawyers and reduced salary increases, is now the UK’s largest firm by revenue, reporting income of £1.3 billion ($2.13 billion).

But profit per equity partner fell 9.6% to £1.3 million ($2.12 million).

Europe and the Middle East produced 83% of Linklaters’ revenue; Asia produced 11%; and the Americas generated 6%.

Founded in 1838 as Dods & Linklater, Linklaters has around 540 partners and 2,400 qualified lawyers, more than 60% of whom are based outside the UK.

Study: Lateral Partners Moving “Downstream”

Erik Even — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:48:09 +0000

A new study by management consultant firm KermaPartners reveals that increasingly, law firm partners are taking jobs with less profitable firms in search of job security.

KermaPartners examined 240 lateral partner moves at Am Law 200 law firms in Q1 2009. Seventy percent moved to firms with lower profits-per-partner.

In Q1 2008, 46% of lateral partners moved to firms with significantly higher profits-per-partner, the study showed.

Management consultancy firm KermaPartners is based in London, with offices in New York City and Toronto.

Dechert CEO Gives Himself $1 Million Pay Cut [Update]

Erik Even — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:10:03 +0000

Dechert LLP chairman and CEO Barton Winokur announced that he has taken a $1 million pay cut.

Winokur revealed the self-imposed pay cut, in fact a reduction in his draw from firm profits, at a meeting of law firm execs in late April.

Other Dechert executives have taken similar pay cuts, according to Winokur.

Winokur made around $8 million in 2008. Dechert’s profits-per-partner average $2 million.

The firm laid off 63 lawyers and 62 staff in March, and in April deferred start dates for two-thirds of its incoming associates.

Founded in 1975, Dechert LLP is an international law firm of more than 1,000 lawyers with top-ranked practices in corporate and securities, complex litigation, finance and real estate, and financial services and asset management.

UPDATE

A firm spokesperson confirms that Dechert’s 36 highest-paid partners have agreed to take a undisclosed percentage cut in their annual draw. If the firm does well, the partners may be able to make up the difference in bonuses.

The firm denies that Winokur’s reduction is $1 million.