Bird & Bird today (3 December) attributed a 5% increase in its half year (H1) 2013/14 revenues to the strengthening of its international offering, although the firm declined to disclose its underlying turnover figure.
The 960-lawyer firm, which operates its accounts in euros, estimated growth of 5% in euros, which it claims equates overall to 10% growth in sterling when currency fluctuations across H1 are taken into account.
Highlights in H1 include office openings in Dubai and Denmark, as well as lateral hires across corporate, intellectual property and media.The top 20 firm also said that despite difficult market conditions, the majority of its offices continued to grow.
In June, Bird & Bird announced an annual 2012/13 revenue growth of 6%, up from £235m to £249m, marking 25 years of continuous growth.
That performance was described by the firm as ‘solid’ and in line with budget ‘in the face of challenging economic conditions in our major markets.’ Despite these prevailing conditions the firm continued to invest, with two new offices, two cooperation agreements and 36 new partners – 11 of which were internal promotions.
Today’s results follow a swathe of positive H1 reports from LB100 firms, including newly-merged Ashurst, which also today reported a 5.8% increase in turnover during the first half of 2013/14 to £298m, attributing the rise to improved economic conditions and an uptick in transactional work.
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk
