After watching profits per partner sink 4.3 percent in 2008 and revive only 0.3 percent in 2009, Am Law 100 firms finally posted a healthy increase–8.4 percent–in 2010. But much of that gain is attributable to firms’ aggressive cost-control measures, especially in the area of headcount, which dropped 2.7 percent over 2009. As a result, growth in revenue per lawyer–the most reliable measure of the overall financial health of law firms–was more tepid, 4.4 percent.

Gross revenue rose 4 percent in 2010, in effect making up for the 3.4 percent loss The Am Law 100 posted in 2009, as firms benefited from the nascent recovery in capital markets and M&A. However, much of that growth came from two giants–DLA Piper and Hogan Lovells, a pair of vereins whose worldwide revenues were included in this year’s report for the first time, due to a change in our methodology. Leaving out those two anomalies, The AmLaw 100’s average gross revenue increased a meager 1.4 percent in 2010.


Previous Am Law 100 coverage :: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007

THE CHARTS

Gross Revenue (Free) This year four more firms crossed over the $1 billion revenue threshold, including Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Sullivan & Cromwell; and the newly merged Hogan Lovells.
Revenue Per Lawyer After two years of declines, revenue per lawyer for The Am Law 100 rose 4.4 percent in 2010.
The Firms A to Z Four firms from the Second Hundred made it into The Am Law 100 this year. New to the top 100 are Jackson Lewis and McKenna Long & Aldridge.
The Profitability Index The profitability index looks at a firm’s ability to convert revenue into profits.
Profits Per Partner Profits per partner are up 8 percent for The Am Law 100.
Profits Per Partner (Top 10-Free)
Compensation – All Partners Only 15 firms posted declines in CAP this year. The rest were flat or showed positive growth.
Compensation – All Partners (Top 10 – Free)
Value Per Lawyer Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is head and shoulders above the rest for the seventh year in a row.
Value Per Lawyer (Top 10 – Free)
Gainers and Decliners Based on RPL Five Am Law 100 firms had revenue per lawyer gains greater than 15 percent, while only one had a double-digit drop.
Profit Margin The profit margin is the ratio of net income to gross revenue, multiplied by 100 and rounded to the nearest whole number.