Mergers for DWF, Pinsents and DAC Beachcroft drive 12.3% growth for national firms

Nationally represented law firms have once again outpaced their City counterparts as consolidation among mid-tier firms continues to drive growth. 

Mergers and acquisitions involving top 50 firms across the UK helped push average revenue growth up to 12.3%, well ahead of the average growth of 6.9% for the top 50 as a whole and also up on last year's average growth of 9.4% for the same group. 

Expansive DWF posted by far the biggest increase as revenues climbed 84.5% to £188.2m, following a transformative year which included a string of mergers, most notably the February acquisition of Cobbetts – catapulting the firm 15 places up the UK top 50 to 18th.  

Meanwhile, Pinsent Masons this year saw its top line rise by 40.2% to £309.2m, fuelled by the merger with Scots firm McGrigors, which went live 1 May 2012. The firm also opened new offices in Paris and Munich during 2012.

Pinsent's managing partner David Ryan (pictured) said: "The firm has changed dramatically over the past 12 months and we have made significant investment into the business. The performance of our international network has also been encouraging with significant contributions from our new offices in Paris and Munich."

Other firms to have benefited from major merger deals include DAC Beachcroft, which posted a 15.3% rise in revenues as it began to feel the full effects of the November 2011 merger between legacy firms Davies Arnold Cooper and Beachcroft, with the tie-up also followed by a combination with Scotland's Andersons Solicitors in September 2012.

On the whole, performance across the group was positive, with the majority posting single-digit revenue increases, and just two national firms failing to see growth – Addleshaw Goddard and Osborne Clarke, which saw revenues fall 1.8% and 0.9% respectively.

DLA Piper, a firm historically regarded as a UK national but which now sits atop the global revenue rankings, enjoyed yet another strong year, with turnover for the firm's non-US arm up 11.3% to £780.7m.

Global co-CEO Nigel Knowles commented: "Our corporate group has never been busier, while in mature markets we have been successful in winning market share off others so that even in a flat market we have been able to achieve growth. I wouldn't swap the position of our firm for the position of any other law firm."

Related:

Legal Week's iPad app: