Previously outpaced by US rivals and the UK mid-tier, some optimism has been restored by the global elite in London. Legal Business decides where to place its bets
‘I will tell you the secret to getting rich on Wall Street. You try to be greedy when others are fearful. And you try to be fearful when others are greedy.’
Warren Buffett
Five years on from its controversial Australian combination – and after a punishing 2015/16 – the storied City firm is still far from finding the form it needs in a competitive global market
‘We had known that the firm had been struggling for a while but we didn’t know, and certainly weren’t expecting, a 20% decrease to our [profit per equity partner] PEP,’ a recent Ashurst leaver tells Legal Business.
In this table we blend together the three key profitability metrics, PEP, profit per lawyer and profit margin, to discover which of the top 100 firms are the most profitable. The firms have been ranked according to their aggregate score across all three measurements.
After years of strong growth, the City’s mid-tier saw more mixed results in 2016
With Brexit looming large over the UK legal market, many of the second 25 of the LB100 have lost momentum. Outpacing the growth of leading players ranked in the top 25, last year firms including Macfarlanes, RPC and Nabarro defied critics who suggest the City mid-tier are in structural decline. This year, however, many firms have posted subdued results.
Continue reading “The LB100: The second quartile – Short changed”
Brexit-related woes aside, City firms in the second 50 enjoyed a bumper year
When a firm depends on a signature practice area or specialism in certain sectors, a boom year can quickly turn bust during periods of economic turbulence. However, a number of the London-based practices and boutiques that occupy the second 50 of the Legal Business 100 (LB100) were the standout performers over 2015/16, despite Brexit-related headwinds during the second half of the year.
Continue reading “The LB100: The second 50 – Sterling performances”
Regional firms are reporting patchy performances overall but the arrival of new entrants to the LB100 shows firms outside the capital are holding their own
National and regional firms are historically outperformed by their London equivalents in the bottom 50, but this year these firms are holding their own. There are 30 non-City firms in the 51-100 bracket, compared to 20 London firms, with a combined revenue of £1.14bn, down on the £1.2bn shared between 32 firms last year. Average revenue for this peer group is unchanged at £38m – the same as for the London-based firms. Profit per equity partner (PEP) has increased 9% to £329,000, compared to the City firms, which managed 7% growth to £435,000.
LB100 LAW FIRMS
The firms that appear in the Legal Business 100 (LB100) are the top 100 law firms in the UK, ranked by gross fee income generated over the financial year 2015/16 – usually 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2016. We call these the 2016 results. Where firms have identical fee incomes, the firms are ranked according to highest profit per equity partner (PEP).
