Osborne Clarke (OC) has published its first set of LLP results for its UK and US offices which show an increase in annual revenue of 17% to £114.7m from £98.2m, while the firm’s highest paid member took home a fifth more than the year prior.
According to the pro-forma figures for the year to 2015/16, the firm’s highest paid member was paid 22% more than last year, taking home £913,000, up from £748,000 the year before. The figures in the LLP accounts do not necessarily equate to the highest paid equity member and can relate to ‘golden handshakes’ to retiring members.
There have been increases across the board, with cash increasing 44% to £261m, while the number of partners has risen 9% to 112 and the number of lawyers is up 11% to 331.
Staff costs also rose, from £33m in 2015 to £37.8m in 2016, while the staff costs from November 2015 to April 2016 stands at almost £20m.
The LLPs show the firm had 331 fee earners up from 299 the year prior, and 138 PAs, up from 127 the year before. OC had also upped the number of business services staff from 565 to 631, an increase of 12%.
The accounts don’t include the firm’s Asia and Europe offices, which operate in a Swiss Verein under Osborne Clarke International.
The LLP’s also state that the firm has no external borrowing, with members capital used for funding investments.
In May, the firm posted its global results, enjoying double digit growth across both its global offices and in the UK for the financial year 2015/16.
The firm posted a 23% increase in global revenues from €191.6m to €236.3m; in the UK growth was slightly slower, up 17% from £96.5m to £112.9m. According to the firm, OC’s six sector groups which includes infrastructure, life sciences and digital business, account for over 90% of its UK revenues.
In September the firm continued the second phase of its international growth by entering into a formal association with new Singaporean firm, OC Queen Street.
Set up by a former partner of Bird & Bird ATMD, Chia-Ling Koh, OC Queen Street will focus on IT, data and IP, and will initially serve clients in the digital and fintech sectors. Koh will be joined later in the year by further partners and support staff.
kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk
