By Alex Novarese | July 14, 2010
The UK's top law firms have managed a major rebound in profitability this year despite the aftermath of the global recession handing the group its first collective fall in revenues in recent memory. Legal Week's 2009-10 results, the first comprehensive picture of the performance of the UK's top 50 law firms, shows revenues across the group fell by £461m, from £12.33bn in 2009 to £11.87bn.
| Analysis
By Claire Ruckin | July 14, 2010
LG has staged a turnaround in this year's financial results, posting an increase in both turnover and profits per equity partner (PEP). Turnover at the London law firm saw a respectable increase of 7.7% to £64.9m compared to £60.3m in 2008-09 financial year.
| Analysis
By Claire Ruckin | July 14, 2010
DWF has stormed into the top 50 after significant UK expansion saw it achieve a 17% hike in turnover during 2009-10. The firm's revenue hit £71.5m over the last financial year, a 17% increase on its 2008-09 turnover of £61.1m. The firmwas also among the fastest-growing by profits per equity partner (PEP) with a 56.3% increase, from £213,000 to £333,000.
| Analysis
By Legal Week | July 14, 2010
The UK's top law firms have managed a major rebound in profitability this year despite the aftermath of the global recession handing the group its first collective fall in revenues in recent memory.
By Claire Ruckin | July 14, 2010
National and regional firms have produced the most movement in the top 50 this year, with a number of practices seeing sizable fluctuations in revenue and profits. The big five national firms - DLA Piper, Eversheds, Pinsent Masons, Addleshaw Goddard and Hammonds - remained static on their 2008-09 positions in the rankings after experiencing slight declines in turnover.
By Suzi Ring | July 14, 2010
UK firms' footholds in Asia have proven their worth in this year's financial results with revenues from the region remaining consistently strong in their contribution to overall turnover. Clifford Chance (CC) in particular saw a notable contribution from its Asia arm, with revenues growing 21% on last year to £126m, up from £104m. The practice now makes up 10% of the firm's overall turnover, up from 8% in 2008-09.
By Suzi Ring | July 14, 2010
Insurance firms have bucked the trend of the top 50 as a whole once again this year, with revenues growing by an average of 7.8% and profits per equity partner (PEP) climbing 2.7%. The group was the strongest performing among the ranked firms, being the only category aside from the mid-tier firms to experience turnover growth and far outpacing the all-firm average. Of the five insurance firms in the top 50, four saw a climb in rank in 2009-10.
| Analysis
By Legal Week | July 14, 2010
Lawyers from top 50 firms assess the market over the last 12 months and make predictions for the year ahead...
| Analysis
By Sofia Lind | July 14, 2010
In revenue terms, Allen & Overy (A&O) was the strongest performing of the magic circle firms this year, seeing revenue dip just 3.8% over the period compared to an average decline of 7.2% across the group. The magic circle firm saw profits per equity partner (PEP) increase 10% to £1.1bn, boosted in part by a 3.2% decrease in equity partner numbers, which have fallen from 370 to 358 over the last financial year in the wake of a major restructuring exercise.
| Analysis
By Legal Week | July 30, 2009
Norton Rose set itself apart from most of its top 10 City rivals over the last financial year after launching a bold initiative to avoid redundancies and hiking turnover by more than 5%. The firm posted a 5.7% increase in revenue to £314m against a 17.3% drop in profits per equity partner (PEP) to £517,000. The climb in turnover means the firm beat the average by revenue growth across the top 10 City firms, which was enough to take Norton Rose into the overall UK top 10 - knocking Ashurst into 11th place.
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