Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan’s London office has released a solid set of 2022 financials, headlined by a 10% increase in profit to £94.87m. There was also an increase to the top line, as it rose 5% to £133.58m, resulting in an impressive profit margin of 71%.
The figures saw the firm return to its familiar growth trajectory after a flat performance last year. However, this year’s numbers were still below the heights of 2020, when the litigation specialist enjoyed an 11% increase in profit and a stellar 20% hike in revenue.
Speaking to Legal Business, London senior partner Richard East (pictured) was bullish on the firm’s prospects in the current market: ‘We’ve grown over the last 15 years through several different cycles. Since the financial crisis in 2008, I don’t think there’s been a year in which there hasn’t been opportunity. However, there is a perfect storm of economic factors going on right now which lends itself to our kind of practice.’
This year’s encouraging results will be particularly welcome given the firm’s turbulent start to last year. In late 2021, a three-partner team antitrust litigation team jumped ship to Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Led by Boris Bronfentrinker, who represented the claimant in the seminal Supreme Court case against Mastercard regarding interchange fees, the departures led to speculation that Quinn would be in for a tough year.
2022 saw the firm respond with a senior lateral move of its own, as former RPC competition head Lambros Kilaniotis joined in August . Nevertheless, Quinn still ended 2022 with just 24 partners, two fewer than the 26 in situ 12 months earlier.
On the development of the team, East added: ‘We’ve never stopped looking at potential opportunities, and that won’t stop. As time moves on and we’ve become a more mature practice, it’s harder to make lateral hires that have any meaningful impact on growth. More and more, we’re looking towards internal promotions. But we never stop looking. There is never an end to the process.’