JD Journal » revenues up

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.

Allen & Overy Reports Revenue Up, Profits Down

Erik Even — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:51:37 +0000

Allen & Overy has announced its revenue for the last fiscal year was up 7% to more than £1.09 billion ($1.77 billion), despite a large number of layoffs.

Profits fell 4% to £431 million ($698 million).

The firm has the second highest gain in revenue for Magic Circle firms, after Freshfields reported a 9% gain.

Founded in 1930, Allen & Overy has approximately 5,500 staff in 31 offices worldwide. It is part of the Magic Circle of London-based law firms.

Freshfields Reports Revenues Up 9%

Erik Even — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:27:40 +0000

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has reported a 9% rise in revenue for the last fiscal year.

Revenue was £1.29 billion pounds ($2.39 billion), up from £1.18 billion pounds ($2.36 billion) in the previous year.

Profit-per-partner was £1.44 million pounds ($2.68 million), up just under 1%.

London’s Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is an international law firm with offices in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the US. In 2006 it was the world’s fourth largest law firm by revenues.

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.

Ince Revenues Up 24% for 2009

Erik Even — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:36:08 +0000

In a year when most big law firms are seeing a drop in revenue, the UK’s Ince & Co is bucking the trend, recording that its revenues for fiscal 2009 were up 23.5%, hitting £79.4 million ($130.4 million).

In fiscal 2008, the firm’s revenue rose 14.5%.

London’s Ince & Co is an international law firm, with a network of offices across Dubai, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Le Havre, Paris, Piraeus, Shanghai and Singapore. The firm practices English, French, German, Greek law, Hong Kong law and UAE law. They also advise on Singapore law in arbitrations. It has over 150 lawyers, 88 of whom are partners.

Podesta Group Adds Lobbyists

Erik Even — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:14:13 +0000

The Podesta Group has added at least six principals this year.

Podesta saw a 44% rise in gross lobbying revenue from 2007 to 2008.

So far this year, the firm has filed 18 registrations for new federal lobbying clients, including Deloitte, Michelin North America, and Sallie Mae. The firm’s existing clients include Google, Wal-Mart, and Reed Elsevier, the company that owns Lexis-Nexis.

The new additions include Teal Baker, an official in President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, who returns to Podesta after leaving in 2007.

Peggy Binzel is a former legislative director for then-US Representative Jack Fields of Texas.

Beth Inadomi returns to Podesta; she is a former counsel on the Senate Commerce Committee.

Aranthan Jones II worked for then-US Representative William Jefferson, Louisiana Democrat.

Andy Lewin worked for US Representative Dennis Moore, Democrat of Kansas, and then-US Representative Max Sandlin, Democrat of Texas.

Bob Taylor was deputy assistant secretary of defense for Senate affairs.

The Podesta Group is a lobbying and public affairs firm based in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1988 by brothers John Podesta and Tony Podesta, and has previously been known as Podesta Associates and PodestaMattoon.

Confirmed: Layoffs at Quinn Emanuel

Erik Even — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:50:43 +0000

A JDJournal tipster informed us yesterday that Quinn Emanuel held layoffs at their Los Angeles office.

Today the firm confirmed that our tipster was reliable: Quinn Emanuel laid off 10 staff members in LA this week.

No lawyers were affected.

Quinn Emanuel’s revenues climbed 15% to $442 million in 2008, and profits per partner rose 11% to $3.34 million. I’m sure the laid off staff were happy to hear it.

The firm also laid off “a handful” of people in March.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP was founded in 1986 by John B. Quinn. It is headquartered in Los Angeles, with major offices in San Francisco, the Silicon Valley, and New York.

Kirkland & Ellis Revenue Up, Profits Flat

Erik Even — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:23:28 +0000

Am Law 100 firm Kirkland & Ellis saw an increase in revenue and flat profits per partner in the 2008 fiscal year.

Revenue rose 7% to $1.4 billion, and profit per partner was flat at $2.47 million. Revenue per lawyer fell 3% to $1.05 million.

Business for the firm’s large private equity group was down, but that was balanced by its strong practices in litigation, bankruptcy, and intellectual property.

The firm saw an 11% jump in head count, bringing its lawyer headcount to more than 1,300.

The firm increased its number of partners last year by 7%, from 509 to 545.

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.

Hammonds to Cut 20 Partners

Erik Even — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:52:37 +0000

London’s Hammonds LLP is set to cut about 10% of its partnership.

The top 50 UK law firm is cutting up to 20 partners from its fixed share and equity ranks.

Some partners will also be affected by a de-equitization program in an attempt to deal with underperformance, especially at the top of the partnership.

The cuts, affecting the firm’s offices in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, will see corporate and real estate under the most scrutiny, with a number of partners having already left the firm. The rest of those affected are expected to leave before the end of the financial year.

In January, the firm had 186 partners, including 74 in the equity.

The move comes after the firm laid off 53 support staff and 24 fee earners as a result of a redundancy consultation launched in November.

Hammonds posted a drop in profits per equity partner of more than 9% for 2007-08, to £367,000 ($525,000). Revenue at the firm edged up 3.4% to £132 million ($188.9 million).

Hammonds’ overseas offices are located in Aosta, Milan, Rome, Turin, Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Madrid, Hong Kong and Beijing.

Proskauer Rose’s Profits Fall 10% in 2008

Erik Even — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:03:46 +0000

Am Law 100 firm Proskauer Rose’s profits per equity partner dropped 10% in 2008 to $1.4 million.

Revenues increased marginally, by 1%, to $634 million. Revenue per lawyer dipped slightly to $916,000.

Total headcount attorney rose slightly from 685 in 2007 to 692 in 2008. The number of equity partners was up two in 2008; 10 new non-equity partners also joined.

Unlike most Am Law 100 firms, Proskauer’s financial year ends October 31st, so the numbers only cover about a month and a half of the financial crisis prompted by Lehman Brothers’ mid-September collapse.

Despite this, the firm’s performance in November and December was roughly in line with the previous six months.

In 2008, Proskauer Rose added an office in Hong Kong, and announced plans to launch in Beijing. The firm also added a Chicago office following the hire of a three-partner insurance litigation team from Mayer Brown.

In December, the firm cut 35 associates and 25 administrative staff.

Winston & Strawn Revenues Up, Profits Flat

Erik Even — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:31:09 +0000

Chicago-based Winston & Strawn saw revenues grow 6.7% to $744 million last year.

Profits dipped slightly to $1.27 million, while both gross revenue and head count increased after a record number of lateral lawyer acquisitions. Revenues grew to $744 million.

The firm brought on at least 58 lawyers in 2008. They also hired a record number of associates last fall, although the firm would not give exact numbers. Associate compensation for 2009 has not yet been determined.

Winston & Strawn LLP was founded in Chicago in 1853. It employs about 1,000 attorneys among 13 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.