Top 100 firms report single digit growth for last year

The Am Law Daily has released figures that give a snapshot of the legal services industry over the past year. The top 100 firms saw single digit growth in gross revenue, revenue per lawyer and profits per partner. For the most part these firms were able to avoid further layoffs, and many started to add to headcount in both the associate and partner ranks. The top 100 firms reported a 6 per cent increase in gross revenue, but the top 50 distributed a greater proportion of that money to their partners, increasing profit per partner by 4.8 per cent to $1.6 million, while the 51-100 firms increased profit per partner by 1.4 per cent, $1.1 million. The biggest increase in headcount - excluding firms that merged last year - took place at Los Angeles-based firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which conducted a 42 per cent increase in lawyer headcount, adding 190 lawyers and opening offices in Washington DC and Moscow.

Top 100 firms report single digit growth for last year americanlawyer.com Fri, May 4, 2012