Fried Frank Keeps Up Growth, Doubling Partner Profits Over Five-Year Span
Chairman David Greenwald said 2019 is shaping up to be another strong year.
March 21, 2019 at 01:48 PM
4 minute read
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson is continuing to grow its top and bottom lines, boosting revenue and surpassing the $3 million mark in profits per equity partner for the first time in the Wall Street firm's 129-year history.
Profits per equity partner (PEP) rose 11.1 percent in 2018 to $3.268 million. Over the last five years, PEP has grown by 100 percent, noted Fried Frank chairman David Greenwald.
Fried Frank's gross revenue grew 7.9 percent in 2018 to $684 million, and revenue per lawyer rose 3.1 percent to $1.333 million, a milestone for the firm.
Greenwald credited the growth to strategic focus on being go-to counsel on clients' most complex matters, especially in the firm's asset management, capital markets, finance, M&A, litigation, private equity, real estate and restructuring practices, Greenwald said.
“As a result, we've continued to have excellent results and last year was a very strong year,” Greenwald said.
Fried Frank's asset management, real estate, private equity and M&A practices had a particularly strong year, said Greenwald, a former deputy general counsel at The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. who returned to the firm in 2013 and took over as its leader the following year.
Among stand-out matters in 2018, the firm advised Brookfield Asset Management in connection with the formation of Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners III, which closed with $15 billion in aggregate commitments and is Brookfield's largest property fund to date.
The firm advised Dallas-based technical professional services firm U.S. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. in the $3.3 billion sale of its energy, chemicals and resources segment to Australian engineering services firm WorleyParsons Ltd. It also worked with U.S. aluminum producer Aleris Corp. in its $2.6 billion acquisition by Novelis Inc.
Fried Frank also advised Google in its $2.4 billion acquisition of Chelsea Market in New York City—the second highest price ever paid for a single building in the United States. The firm advised RXR Realty in connection to JetBlue's proposed $2 billion to $3 billion terminal expansion at John F. Kennedy Airport, a part of the Port Authority's planned $10 billion redevelopment of the New York airport.
Notable lateral additions last year included Stroock & Stroock & Lavan litigation and securities enforcement and regulation partner Michael Keats, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison's Colin Kelly, both in New York. The firm also added real estate investment trusts partners Stuart Barr and Cameron Cosby from Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C.
There were also key additions in London, including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate and capital markets partner Ashar Qureshi, Norton Rose Fulbright corporate partner Ian Lopez, and Milbank finance partner Neil Caddy.
“We still are hunting for more people to join us in practice areas where we can better support our clients and grow our strategically important practices,” Greenwald said.
Overall head count at the firm increased 4.6 percent in 2018 to 514 attorneys. The equity partner tier dropped from 109 partners to 104 partners, while the nonequity tier grew 52.2 percent to 35 partners from 23 the year prior.
“Our strategy continues to pay off, and looking ahead we think we're well-positioned to help our clients navigate their most complex and important matters,” Greenwald said.
“I'm optimistic about 2019. I think it's going to be another good year,” he added.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllAs Tech-Focused Roles in C-Suite Expand, Newcomers Embrace Big Law Opportunities
Trending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Trump's Return to the White House: The Legal Industry Reacts
- 3Election 2024: Nationwide Judicial Races and Ballot Measures to Watch
- 4Climate Disputes, International Arbitration, and State Court Limitations for Global Issues
- 5Judicial Face-Off: Navigating the Ethical and Efficient Use of AI in Legal Practice [CLE Pending]
- 6How Much Does the Frequency of Retirement Withdrawals Matter?
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250