Cyber-attack hacks at DLA profit as strong UK performance lifts revenue 5%

Posted on |
Cyber-attack hacks at DLA profit as strong UK performance lifts revenue 5%

Growth in DLA Piper’s UK business has pushed the firm’s international LLP top line to £919m, but 2017’s cyber-attack has weighed on profit.

The firm’s international (non-US) revenue for the year to 30 April 2018 grew £42.2m, or 5%, of which £29m related to the UK business. Stripping out the impact of foreign exchange, however, which the previous financial year added an enormous £75.5m to revenue, fee income was up £33.1m, or about 4%. Continue reading “Cyber-attack hacks at DLA profit as strong UK performance lifts revenue 5%”

Dentons UK top earner reaped benefits of Maclays takeover with 27% pay rise

Posted on |
Dentons UK top earner reaped benefits of Maclays takeover with 27% pay rise

Dentons’ highest paid UK partner took home £1.4m in the year to April 2018 compared to £1.1m the year before, the firm’s first accounts since the merger with Maclay Murray & Spens show.

Covering the firm’s 14 offices in the UK and Middle East, the accounts, published today (30 January), incorporate six months of trading as a combined firm since the tie-up with the Scottish shop went live on 28 October 2017. Continue reading “Dentons UK top earner reaped benefits of Maclays takeover with 27% pay rise”

Bird & Bird reports 11% uptick in first-half revenue as LLPs reveal rich pickings for ExComm

Posted on |
Bird & Bird reports 11% uptick in first-half revenue as LLPs reveal rich pickings for ExComm

Bird & Bird’s nine executive committee members took home €6.4m in the year to April 2018, its LLP accounts showed today (30 January), as the firm announced turnover of €197m in the first half of the current financial year.

The TMT-focused shop saw pre-tax profit up 14% to €119.8m in the 2017/18 financial year, a pacier run than the 9% rise to €103.5m in the previous year. Turnover rose 6% to €380.9m. Continue reading “Bird & Bird reports 11% uptick in first-half revenue as LLPs reveal rich pickings for ExComm”

LLP accounts show BLP flagging ahead of Bryan Cave merger as profit fell 21%

Posted on |
LLP accounts show BLP flagging ahead of Bryan Cave merger as profit fell 21%

Legacy Berwin Leighton Paisner was hit by a 21% drop in profit and 3% dip in revenue in its last full financial year prior to its merger with Bryan Cave, LLP accounts reveal.

Last February, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP)’s quest for a US tie-up received a shot in the arm when its transatlantic merger with Bryan Cave was approved by partners, with the deal going live in April 2018. Continue reading “LLP accounts show BLP flagging ahead of Bryan Cave merger as profit fell 21%”

LLP accounts: Gowling’s UK revenue and profit fall while top-earner’s pay drops 6%

Posted on |
LLP accounts: Gowling’s UK revenue and profit fall while top-earner’s pay drops 6%

Revenue and profit at Gowling WLG’s UK LLP have fallen despite the overall firm, including its Canadian arm, increasing revenue by nearly 17% last year.

Gowling’s UK LLP accounts for the year to 30 April 2018 say revenue fell 5% to £179.9m. Profit, meanwhile, fell to £51.9m from £60m, a 14% drop. Continue reading “LLP accounts: Gowling’s UK revenue and profit fall while top-earner’s pay drops 6%”

LLP accounts: Strong returns for CC leadership with bumper 38% pay rise as Eversheds executives see take home remain static

Posted on |
LLP accounts: Strong returns for CC leadership with bumper 38% pay rise as Eversheds executives see take home remain static

Clifford Chance’s (CC) 13-strong executive leadership team took home £22m in the 2017/18 financial year, according to the firm’s filings with Companies House.

It means the firm’s leaders have seen remuneration swell by 38% since last year, when the group of 13 pocketed £16m. Continue reading “LLP accounts: Strong returns for CC leadership with bumper 38% pay rise as Eversheds executives see take home remain static”

LLP accounts: Linklaters posts fall in profits as top earner doubles income at Macfarlanes

Posted on |
LLP accounts: Linklaters posts fall in profits as top earner doubles income at Macfarlanes

Operating profits at Linklaters dipped 1% to £472.3m, while Macfarlanes’ highest-earning partner brought home almost £4m in 2017/18, the two firms’ LLP accounts showed this week.

In a mixed bag of financial results, the fall in profits at Linklaters came despite a 6% rise in turnover to £1.51bn. The operating profit figure reported is more than £200m lower than the £676.2m pre-tax profit the firm posted in July . Continue reading “LLP accounts: Linklaters posts fall in profits as top earner doubles income at Macfarlanes”

DWF revenue jumps to £236m ahead of stock exchange float

Posted on |
DWF revenue jumps to £236m ahead of stock exchange float

DWF has added 18% to its top line as the thrusting national operator gears up to become the largest UK law firm float yet.

Revenue at the top 25 firm for the year to 30 April, announced today (13 September), was £236m, up from £199m last year. The firm also said profit per equity partner (PEP) increased, without specifying a figure, but this year’s LB100 estimates it rose 9% to £327,000. Continue reading “DWF revenue jumps to £236m ahead of stock exchange float”

The LB100 overview: Crisis? What crisis?

Posted on |
The LB100 overview: Crisis? What crisis?

Brexit negotiations stalling, trade wars looming, the high street hit by a raft of collapses – at first sight, there is plenty to suggest the UK has taken a trip back in time. Yet for those with a finger on the pulse in the City, it will come as no surprise to find this year’s Legal Business 100 (LB100) speaks of a standout year for Britain’s legal elite. Turmoil has mattered very little against the backdrop of booming transactional activity, interest rates near historic lows and the cheap pound.

While commercial lawyers spoke with wary optimism of healthy markets in the summer of 2017, caution progressively turned into bemused enthusiasm as the City realised it was living through its busiest winter for years during a period that seemed to resemble the Winter of Discontent. By spring, some were hailing the best financial year since the banking crisis. This year’s survey confirms that there is some substance to such claims. Continue reading “The LB100 overview: Crisis? What crisis?”

LB100 Second 25: The ex-pistols

Posted on |
LB100 Second 25: The ex-pistols

The story of last year’s Legal Business 100 (LB100) was the emergence of a group of mobile mid-tier outfits that were threatening to take the market by storm. For some, that has become a reality, with the pacesetting Fieldfisher surging into the top 25 on the back of another stellar year. For those it left behind in the 26-50 bracket, the going has been generally tougher.

Despite a modest 5% jump in average revenue to £122.6m for the mid-market cohort, there was a 3% slump in average profit per lawyer to £65,000. Average revenue per lawyer also slipped 2% to £267,000, although there was a 3% rise in the average profit per equity partner (PEP) figure to £501,000. Continue reading “LB100 Second 25: The ex-pistols”