Bakers London office set for 33% profits drop-off as revenues fall
Baker & McKenzie's City office looks set to take almost twice the hit on profits per equity partner (PEP) as the rest of the firm, with London PEP expected to have fallen by a third in 2008-09. The international firm's results show that firmwide revenues fell by 3% to $2.11bn (£1.27bn), with PEP falling by 17% to $992,000 (£598,000). However, Bakers expects London turnover to dip by 3.4% to £115.7m, with PEP set to plunge by 33.5% from £572,000 to £380,000.
August 14, 2009 at 09:03 AM
3 minute read
Baker & McKenzie's City office looks set to take almost twice the hit on profits per equity partner (PEP) as the rest of the firm, with London PEP expected to have fallen by a third in 2008-09.
The international firm's results show that firmwide revenues fell by 3% to $2.11bn (£1.27bn), with PEP falling by 17% to $992,000 (£598,000). However, Bakers expects London turnover to dip by 3.4% to £115.7m, with PEP set to plunge by 33.5% from £572,000 to £380,000.
The firm, which operates a 30 June year-end, said London was affected more severely than other offices because costs rose more steeply, while transaction levels reflected the fact that the City was harder hit than many other financial centres.
London head Gary Senior said: "If you strip out those UK firms with exchange rate benefits, they had broadly flat revenue and profits down by a third and we are the same. The market conditions had a significant impact on financial performance, but I do not think we are out of line."
Bakers said that currency exchange rates had had an adverse impact on results, stating that on a currency rate-neutral basis, fees increased by 2% over the year globally.
Despite the overall decline, globally 2008-09 was still the firm's second-best year in revenue terms after 2007-08 and its third best in terms of PEP. Chairman John Conroy said that the firm had taken a number of steps to cut costs during the financial year, including redundancies.
In April Bakers announced that it was cutting 38 lawyers and 86 paralegal and support roles across the US, in addition to six associates laid off in New York in January, while a London consultation in May saw City headcount cut by 70, including 21 fee earners.
Other cost-cutting measures taken by the firm included increasing the amount of work sent to its global support service centre in Manila. Headcount in the Philippines increased by 25% over the last year and now stands at around 500, with the firm estimating that its insourcing operations now save it around $20m-$25m (£12m-£15m) annually.
Conroy said: "We have made a concerted effort to focus on key client relationships and are gratified by the results given the market conditions. Our fiscal year meant we had around eight months exposure to the worst of the downturn but in the fourth quarter we started to see some encouraging signs with productivity increasing."
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
© 2025 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 AllBakers and Olswang advise on €515m Heron Tower refinancing
Trending Stories
- 1We the People?
- 2New York-Based Skadden Team Joins White & Case Group in Mexico City for Citigroup Demerger
- 3No Two Wildfires Alike: Lawyers Take Different Legal Strategies in California
- 4Poop-Themed Dog Toy OK as Parody, but Still Tarnished Jack Daniel’s Brand, Court Says
- 5Meet the New President of NY's Association of Trial Court Jurists
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
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