White & Case's London arm saw revenues rise 3.6% in 2016 after a tough year for Europe's legal markets, with global revenues growing 7.1% to a new record high of $1.63bn (£1.31bn) for the 1,957-lawyer firm.

The firm's London office contributed around $290m (£232m) to this total, up from $280m (£224m) last year.

London managing partner Oliver Brettle said: "It was not the smoothest year for businesses generally. In Europe and London we had a good year, but not as good as the US. In London we saw strong performances in international arbitration and disputes, financial restructuring and private equity."

Revenue per lawyer rose 5% to $835,000 (£670,000), while profits per partner inched up 1.5% to $2.05m (£1.64m).

These gains come about a year and a half into a five-year strategic plan for the firm. Under that plan, the firm intends to grow to about 500 lawyers in both London and New York. Each city had about 350 lawyers in 2015, and the firm has since increased its presence by 20% in New York and 12% in London.

"Our challenge is how to grow, but keep driving profitability," said chairman Hugh Verrier (pictured), who is serving his third term in the role.

UK hires for the firm during the year included Clifford Chance global banking co-head Patrick Sarch, as well as Ashurst London disputes head Mark Clarke, and Berwin Leighton Paisner Europe and Middle East tax co-head Michael Wistow.

Meanwhile, in New York, the firm hired US Department of Justice associate deputy attorney general Virginia Romano. The firm also lost the global head of its investment funds group, Monica Arora, who left for Proskauer Rose in September.

The new hires are not limited to New York and London. In 2016, White & Case launched in Australia with the hire of 10 Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) partners. (HSF recently sued the partner group, saying it wants to extend a six-month restraint period for departing partners.)

White & Case also hired four McDermott Will & Emery partners during the year, three of who launched a new Boston office for the firm, which will focus on white-collar litigation.

The firm's significant matters in 2016 included its representation of Italian creditors who held $900m (£722m) in Argentine bonds. The bondholders settled with Argentina in a case before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

White & Case is also representing Anthem, both in its proposed acquisition of Cigna Corporation and in related antitrust litigation. On Wednesday (15 February), Anthem said it had filed a suit to block Cigna from leaving the deal.

Among the firm's largest deals during the year was its representation of Canadian utility company Fortis in its acquisition of Michigan-based electric transmission company ITC Holdings for $11.3bn (£9.1bn).

White & Case also represented Kaupthing, the largest of three Icelandic banks to face insolvency, with 290 lawyers helping the bank navigate more than $45bn (£36bn) in liabilities.

The firm's overall lawyer headcount grew by 2.3% to 1,957 in 2016. The equity partner class expanded by 4.2% to 299 partners, while the non-equity partner ranks increased by 1.9% to 160 in 2016.