Robert Hays, King & Spalding chairman

King & Spalding grew its London revenue by 12% last year, hitting $48.3m.

The growth came amid a solid global revenue uptick of almost 11%, reaching $1.26bn.

"It was a solid year for the firm – even good," said King & Spalding chairman Robert Hays, adding that the firm exceeded budget. "We have been committed to growing both the top and bottom lines, and we were able to do that last year at about a double-digit growth rate."

That resulted in a boost to profit per equity partner to nearly $2.85m – up from almost $2.61m in 2017. Revenue per lawyer increased from $1.13m to nearly $1.17m.

"We also benefited a good bit from the expanding economy," Hays said. "Our client base – and new clients – had a greater demand for legal services because of an improving economy. There was more demand for what we are doing and more people to do it.

"We continue to see strong demand, but I don't expect it to go on indefinitely," he added. "We do believe there will be a slowing or downturn, but when, I don't know. I think it is not wise for the industry or people to ignore that reality."

King & Spalding raised rates in line with the industry, at slightly more than 3%,Hays said. Expenses were also up – notably for associate compensation after the associate salary hikes that started in New York in June last year – as well as increased technology and healthcare costs.

The firm also increased its headcount, adding a net 74 lawyers, for a total lawyer headcount of 1,081. While the equity partner count stayed constant at 194 in 2018, the firm added a net 14 income partners for an increase to 218. By contrast, in 2017 the firm's overall lawyer and partner headcounts had remained flat, increasing by a net two lawyers only from the prior year.