New York elite firms Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Davis Polk & Wardwell struggled to achieve meaningful growth last year, with Weil’s haul of $1.16bn in 2015 still behind what the firm generated in 2011.
Clydes top-paid member took home 36% more in 2015, as firm’s profits rise
Clyde & Co rewarded its highest paid member 36% more, dishing out £1.8m in the 2014/15 financial year. the firm’s LLP filings show.
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News in brief – September 2015
BAKERS’ 2014/15 FINANCIALS SEE FIRM SLIP BEHIND DLA
Baker & McKenzie revealed it generated $2.43bn in the year to 30 June 2015, a 4% fall on last year’s $2.54bn. The firm said a strengthening dollar had hit its top-line and also helped push profit per equity partner down to $1.14m from $1.29m. The firm said it had invested in a new financial and management system and hired 51 lateral partners over the year.
Deal machines – the resilience of Macfarlanes, Travers Smith and the mid-tier deal team
The forced obsolescence of Macfarlanes and Travers Smith as City-focused M&A teams has been as long predicted as it has failed to materialise. Since 2010, after both firms quickly recovered from a brutal post-Lehman shock, the pair have proved not just resilient but able to thrive.
The pair performed robustly again in 2014/15, with Macfarlanes having been one of the most successful top-100 firms over the last five years with organic revenue growth of 73%. Around 20% of revenue is generated by its corporate department, reflecting the size of its private client practice and a concerted push to broaden its disputes, regulatory and finance teams. Continue reading “Deal machines – the resilience of Macfarlanes, Travers Smith and the mid-tier deal team”
PwC Legal targets £100m turnover by 2018 as revenues rise 15%
PwC Legal has performed solidly for the financial year ending 30 June 2015 with revenue rising 15% to £41m, while the firm has set itself an audacious target of £100m to reach by the end of 2018.
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Global 100: New York report – City heat
Legal Business took a tour of New York for our Global 100 special and found Wall Street’s elite in a confident mood amid robust deal markets and the ongoing regulatory push.
New York, June 2015. Once the summer arrives in Manhattan, everyone wants to leave – to head upstate or to the Atlantic Coast. Anything to escape the oppressive heat. But among the city’s top-performing law firms, the mood is hot but not bothered. The nine months since Legal Business last visited the Big Apple have brought favourable conditions.
In 2014, the 20 firms in the LB100 that are predominately New York-based amassed $17.03bn at an average revenue per lawyer of $1.2m – well ahead of the Global 100 average and those of the first and second quartiles.