Therese Pritchard and Lisa Mayhew

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has filed the final LLP accounts for Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), revealing falling financials at the legacy UK firm prior to its transatlantic merger with Bryan Cave last year.

The accounts, which cover the 12 months to 30 April 2018, show operating profit at BLP fell by 21% from £72.5m to £56.9m during the year, while fee income fell 3% from £271.2m to £263.6m.

After the merger, which went live at the start of April 2018, the combined BCLP adopted a US-style remuneration model for partners, in a move away from the traditional UK lockstep.

BLP's highest-earning partner during 2017-18 made £1.4m, flat on the previous year's figure. The average number of legal staff increased 3% to 769, although overall headcount was down slightly as support staff numbers fell by 4%. Total staff costs rose 7% to £127.8m.

BCLP also today (29 January) announced its first combined financial results since the merger, touting a revenue figure of $905m for the 2018 calendar year, which the firm claims represents growth of 1% based on constant exchange rates. The firm also said partner profits had risen by 5%, but declined to provide a figure.

The transatlantic firm said that since the merger, collaboration efforts had resulted in "more than 600 cross-working and referral matters", which had generated revenues of about $20m.

In a joint statement, co-chairs Lisa Mayhew and Terry Pritchard said: "We are very pleased to see revenue growth and increased PEP in our first year. The firm has moved remarkably fast to integrate, with our lawyers forming increasingly strong connections to their clients and each other."

Meanwhile, Addleshaw Goddard has also filed its LLP accounts for 2017-18, shedding light on the value of its 17 June combination with Scotland's HBJ.

While no consideration was paid for the transaction, the accounts state that HBJ had total assets of £13.1m and total liabilities of £1.5m, equating to a total value of £11.6m.

Meanwhile, the firm's top of equity inched above the £1m for the first time since 2015-16, having slipped to £776,000 in 2016-17, which the firm at the time attributed to the impact of the Brexit referendum.

Owing in large part to the merger, profits also jumped from £64m to £83.5m, while the firm's total headcount increased by 167 to 1,369.

Addleshaws' merger with HBJ went live on 1 June 2017 and exceeded revenue expectations after the firm released its first post-merger financial results in July last year, adding more than £40m to the firm's top line.