Baker McKenzie‘s London office has seen its revenue jump by more than 20% in the firm’s LLP accounts, with turnover up to £176m in 2016 from £145.2m the previous year.
The international firm, which runs its financial reporting year until 30 June, has seen its London office continue a trajectory of strong growth, outstripping the firm’s global growth rate. In the 12 months to June 2015, the firm also added 9% to its London top line.
The London office has also seen a major boost in profitability, with profit for distribution among members up from £47.2m to £70m, a 48% increase.
The total number of fee earners at the firm, excluding partners, increased from 306 in 2015 to 340 in 2016, while the number of support staff remained the same at 308. The total number of UK-qualified partners fell slightly from 85 to 83, while the highest paid member took home £1.2m last year compared to £1.78m in 2015.
The firm hired ten new partners in the City in 2016, including three tax specialists from Big Four accountants. Key deals for the global firm included acting for Bain Capital on a $3.1bn deal to sell food distributor Brakes Group.
London has also been singled out for further expansion by the firm’s global chair Paul Rawlinson. Rawlinson is aiming to expand the firm’s transactional practices with between 10 and 20 new partner level lawyers over the next three years.
Bakers London managing partner Alex Chadwick (pictured) said: ‘Our strong London results are a good example of how this client-focus is working for us. Looking ahead, I want to capitalise on this momentum by continuing to drive growth across our transactional practices, improving profitability and ensuring that we continue to win significant client mandates.’
matthew.field@legalease.co.uk
For more on international firms in the City, see the 2017 Global London report
