The age of turbulence has only just begun for the UK’s top 100 firms
Respectable, yes, but 2012/13 was a tough year, even by the post-Lehman standards law firm leaders have become accustomed to. While a frantic run of consolidation and international expansion pushed revenue up 8% to £19.1bn, like-for-like growth was far more subdued.
On all objective measures of productivity and profitability, there were further slides, even before accounting for inflation. Back-of-the envelope calculations indicate that the UK’s top 100 law firms are about 25-30% off their boom-time highs in real terms underlying profitability.
In trying to respond to that pressure there has been a genuine shift in gravity among the UK’s top 25 over the last half decade, with the group reborn in truly globalised form. When people used to talk about law being global, until recently they really meant six or so firms. Now it’s 20-plus. With SJ Berwin to join King & Wood Mallesons, and Ashurst this autumn to vote on full integration with its Australian partner, this group is to a considerable extent operating in a different space to the rest of the LB100. Average revenue in this group is just short of £600m, against £98m in the second quartile, while underlying profitability is nearly double that of the next 25. Continue reading “The age of turbulence has only just begun for the UK’s top 100 firms”
LB100 – Partner Earnings
LB 100 – Methodology
LB100 LAW FIRMS
The firms that appear in the LB100 are the top 100 firms in the UK, ranked by gross fee income generated over the financial year 2012/13 – usually 1 May 2012 to 30 April 2013. We call these the 2013 results. Where firms have identical fee incomes, the firms are ranked according to the highest profits per equity partner (PEP). Continue reading “LB 100 – Methodology”
Against the grain: Kent CC’s legal arm introduces trainee programme as it unveils 20% rise in profits
As private practice firms including Allen & Overy downsize their trainee intakes the successful legal arm of Kent County Council has introduced its first trainee programme as it also unveils a significant increase in profitability.
As of September, Kent Legal Services (KLS) will take on five trainees as it moves to grow its business. The legal arm, which is unique among in-house departments for generating income as a result of offering its services to external county councils, yesterday announced a rise in 2012/13 profits of 20% from £2m to £2.4m and a 9% increase in turnover from £11m to £12m. This represents an improvement on last year’s performance, when profit increased by 18% to £2m while turnover was up 10% to £11m. Continue reading “Against the grain: Kent CC’s legal arm introduces trainee programme as it unveils 20% rise in profits”
Investment costs: Hill Dickinson partners vote through £2.8m cash call
It’s been a tough year for national firm Hill Dickinson. With both profit per lawyer and profit per equity partner taking a tumble of 15% – each at £33,000 and £264,000 respectively – and recent partner and staff redundancies matching others struggling in a turbulent market, the 200-year old firm has confirmed that it has issued a £2.8m cash call to partners to boost the balance sheet due to what managing partner Peter Jackson says was down to a year of heavy investment. Continue reading “Investment costs: Hill Dickinson partners vote through £2.8m cash call”
After the surge a pause – expansive A&O sees a lull in growth as first Magic Circle player confirms 2013 results
Having been the stand-out City player in its weight class since the 2008 banking crisis re-shaped the global legal market, Allen & Overy (A&O) has this year seen a relative slow-down in growth as the firm becomes the first Magic Circle practice to unveil its 2012/13 results.
The 525-partner law firm saw a 0.6% increase in revenues for its year to April 2013, with income hitting £1.19bn. Profit per equity partner was also flat at £1.1m while total profits before tax were up 2% to £496.7m. Continue reading “After the surge a pause – expansive A&O sees a lull in growth as first Magic Circle player confirms 2013 results”
Legal Business Global 100 2013
Global 100: The long haul
A decade of flying the Global 100 has left some legal players frazzled while others have become increasingly energised. Here we chart ten years’ performance by the world’s largest law firms
‘We want to be the number one global law firm and, without a strong US component, we won’t achieve that,’ – this comment, made by Linklaters managing partner Simon Davies in 2008, reflects a perennial issue since Legal Business first began producing its own list of the top 50 global firms by revenue in 2004. The tussle between the UK Magic Circle and the Wall Street elite has dominated agendas since that period. Continue reading “Global 100: The long haul”