Allen & Overy‘s (A&O) c-suite including its senior partner and managing partner, global practice heads and support directors took home £13.6m in 2015/16, up 7% on last year’s £12.7m, the firm’s accounts reveal.
A&O’s revenue rose by 2% to £1.31bn for the last financial year while profits per equity partner remained stable at £1.2m following last year’s 8% jump. Profit before tax slid 1% to £562m, which the firm attributed to an increase in fee earner headcount during the first six months before a levelling off in client work in the second half.
According the Magic Circle firm’s LLP filings profit distributions increased by about 5% with partners at the bottom of its 20 to 50 lockstep ladder receiving £745k while those at the top took home £1.9m. The highest paid partner will receive £2.8m which remains relatively steady compared with 2015’s £2.9m.
The average number of partners at the firm reduced slightly with a headcount of 523, five fewer than the year previous. The average number of full partners was down by six to 434.
Staff costs increased by 6% last year sitting at £457m which matched an increase in overall staff numbers. Lawyers and other fee earners rose by 107 to 2,327 while support staff numbers increased by three to 2,205.
In July last year A&O’s senior management, managing partner Andrew Ballheimer and senior partner Wim Dejonghe (pictured), told Legal Business the firm’s intentions were to grow across US, China and Europe, with the duo setting their sights on funds, finance, private equity, TMT and regulatory compliance as sectors they would be looking to bulk up.
A&O has also worked on a joint venture with Deloitte, the first between a Big Four accountant and a Magic Circle law firm. The new service – dubbed MarginMatrix –deploys automation to help banks address incoming global regulation of the $500trn over-the-counter derivatives market. A&O runs the programme and provide legal input, while Deloitte provides project management to large teams of negotiators in multiple jurisdictions.
madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk