Debevoise & Plimpton ended a period of slow growth by posting a 6% rise in revenue to $756.9m as profits surged by 10%.
The New York-headquartered firm added $41.6m to its top line in 2015, matching the 6% growth rate achieved between 2010 and 2014 after an improved performance.
Profits per equity partner (PEP) at the firm rose 10% to $2.62m, handing the firm’s 134 equity partners over $300,000 more than they received in 2014.
The firm’s London office, headed by high profile disputes partner Lord Peter Goldsmith QC and tax lawyer Richard Ward, is understood to have registered a 20% rise in revenue to $110.5m.
With the London arm having recorded revenue of around $92m in 2014, the firm added nearly $20m to break the $100m barrier.
Growth of the office, home to 110 lawyers, was driven by strong performances in the funds and disputes space. Its City lawyers acted for private equity funds Ares on the creation of a $1.3bn real estate fund, Exponent on a £1bn PE fund and Park Square Capital on a $2.4bn fund for distressed assets.
Debevoise presiding partner Michael Blair said: ‘In recent years, the London office has come of age. It is now a significant engine of growth for the firm, attracting headline clients and internationally significant matters. 2015 saw our firmwide revenues and profits continue to rise, and London remains an important driver of that success.’
Last year the firm posted a 3% revenue rise to $710m, up nearly $22m on 2013, while partner profits also increased by 3%. With a small increase in the size of its partnership, from 138 in 2013 to 134 in 2014, the growth was largely organic.
tom.moore@legalease.co.uk
