In its third year post-merger, Norton Rose Fulbright‘s LLP has revealed flat turnover of £391.7m while overall pre-tax profit rose by 2% to £112m from £109m for the year to 30 April 2015.
With the accounts covering offices in areas including Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Morocco, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, operating profit was rose slightly to £113.1m from £111m.
Staff costs increased marginally to £177.23m from £177.16m. The average number of fee earners increased to 1,077 from 1,068 while wages and salaries remained nearly the same at £159.2m from £159.9m.
The firm paid out £1.373m to its highest earning member, up from £1.277m the year before. The figures in the LLP accounts do not necessarily equate to the highest paid equity member and can relate to ‘golden handshakes’ to retiring members.
It follows the firm’s full year financials last summer which according to the LB100, showed a 3% drop of revenue to £1.1bn, while profit per equity partner fell by 6% to £394,000.
Major investment by the firm last year included a strategic alliance with both Ugandan firm Shonubi Musoke & Co Advocates and Zimbabwean firm Gill, Godlonton & Gerrans, while in April it recruited a team of five lawyers from Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson’s disputes practice in Hong Kong in the wake of the latter’s decision to pull out of Asia.
Earlier this afternoon (9 February) Dentons revealed more positive LLP accounts for its UK, Middle East and Africa (UKMEA) operations, with revenue rising 6% alongside overall profit before taxation climbing about 12%.
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk
