Latham & Watkins had another outstanding year in 2016, with the firm achieving significant gains across all financial metrics.

Revenue increased 6.5% to $2.823bn (£2.26bn) in 2016 – its seventh consecutive year of top-line growth and the most revenue ever generated by a law firm in a single financial year.

Having dipped 2.4% in 2015, Latham's average revenue per lawyer (RPL) rose 1.9% last year, to $1.238m (£990,000) – the second highest RPL in the firm's history, narrowly behind its 2014 peak of $1.245m (£995,000).

Net profit, meanwhile, jumped 8% to $1.424bn (£1.14bn). That helped push profit per equity partner (PEP) past the $3m barrier for the first time, with that metric rising 5.3%, to $3.06m (£2.45m). The firm's profit margin remained flat at 50%.

The results, which Latham chief operating officer LeeAnn Black described in an interview with Legal Week sister title The American Lawyer as "extraordinary", continue a period of meteoric growth at the firm.

Despite a lack of overall growth in the market for high-end legal services, Latham has managed to add more than one billion dollars to its revenue since the peak of the recession in 2009 – equivalent to a 55% increase during the past seven years.

Its net profit has risen by more than 80% in the same period and its PEP has increased by more than 60%, while its total lawyer headcount has only expanded by 21%.

Brexit hasn't changed our strategy at all – London remains a critical market for us

Latham overtook both Baker McKenzie and DLA Piper in 2015 to become the world's largest law firm by revenue and looks likely to retain that title this year. (DLA is yet to announce its 2016 results, but its revenue would need to increase by more than 11% for it to usurp Latham in this year's Am Law 100.)

Latham chair Bill Voge (pictured) said the firm went into 2016 cautious about how issues such as the US presidential election, Brexit and the depression in oil prices would impact on the firm and its clients, but any fears of a slowdown proved unfounded.

"At the beginning of 2016, we were cautious because of the macroeconomic issues. By the second quarter [of the year], that caution had turned to staffing concerns because mandates were coming in quicker than we could deal with them," he said.

All of Latham's practices and industry groups saw increased demand last year, Voge added, with its trial litigation and disputes practice, which accounts for around a third of the firm's total fee-earner headcount, "red hot".

The firm's M&A and banking practices both grew their annual revenue by more than 15% in 2016, while its public company representation practice was up 12% year-on-year. Latham's project finance and insolvency practices also saw "tremendous growth", Black said, as did its life sciences and oil and gas industry groups.

Latham continued to expand aggressively in 2016, opening a new office in South Korea and making 26 lateral partner hires globally.

The firm was particularly active in London, bringing in 10 new partners to that office last year, including Allen & Overy's former banking head Stephen Kensell and M&A partner Edward Barnett. The firm also counted Herbert Smith Freehills' global co-head of energy John Balsdon and Ashurst's global co-head of financial regulation Rob Moulton among its City lateral haul.

Latham's London office also recruited litigation partner Martin Davies and structured finance partner Sanjev Warna-kula-suriya in rare departures from Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Slaughter and May, respectively. (Davies was the first partner to leave Quinn Emanuel in London since the firm opened its office in the city in 2008.)

Black said the UK's decision to exit the European Union had not caused the firm to reassess its plans in London. "Brexit hasn't changed our strategy at all – London remains a critical market for us," she said.

Outside the UK, Latham boosted its Frankfurt office with the hire of A&O's German international capital markets head Oliver Seiler, and continued to develop its litigation and trial department in New York by capturing Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer executive partner Michael Lacovara, who left the magic circle firm less than six months into a five-year term on its four-person management team.

Voge and Black were both quick to point out the international growth of Latham's pro bono programme in 2016, with 80% of the firm's non-US-based lawyers undertaking pro bono work last year – up from 50% in 2011. (In the US, 98% of Latham lawyers participated in pro bono activities last year – up from 79% in 2011.)

The firm handled various pro bono assignments relating to the Syrian refugee crisis and provided direct support to more than 100 asylum seekers in Germany, and also continued its longstanding work supporting US veterans.

"We're very pleased with the revenue we've received from our valued clients, but we also judge our performance on how we've helped those that aren't able to pay the Latham rates," said Voge. "Our pro bono numbers are just as important as the $2.8bn in revenue."

Voge said he is "very optimistic" about Latham's prospects in 2017, and said the firm will continue to develop its business globally through strategic hires – particularly in its London office and its disputes, financial institutions and regulatory practices. "We're not slowing down at all," he said.