Like the larger U.S. legal industry, most law firms with a major presence in Washington, D.C., enjoyed revenue growth in 2019. But as with their counterparts elsewhere, the COVID-19 pandemic may wind up wiping away much of those gains.

Of 14 leading firms that either started in or have their center of gravity in the nation's capital, all but three grew their top-line revenue last year by more than 1%, according to an analysis of the 2020 Am Law 100 released this week.

These 14 firms—Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer; Covington & Burling; Crowell & Moring; Hogan Lovells; Jones Day; McGuireWoods; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius; Sidley Austin; Squire Patton Boggs; Steptoe & Johnson; Venable; Williams & Connolly; and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr—had an average revenue growth of 4.62%, just under the 5% average the Am Law 100 posted last year.

Venable, for instance, had a record-setting 2019, in which the firm saw its revenue rise by 15.2% from $570 million to $657 million a full year after its merger with intellectual property boutique Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto.

But since then, Venable has had to postpone partner distributions, reduce salaries and furlough some staffers due to the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Crowell is in a similar boat. The firm reversed two years of shrinking revenue last year after seeing its top line rise by 8.1% to $433 million. Due to the pandemic, however, Crowell announced it was cutting pay for lawyers and some professional staff by 5% to 25%.

So far, few of the region's other largest firms have publicly enacted staffing and salary cuts. But it may just be a matter of time for many. Tracy Walker, the managing partner of McGuireWoods, told The American Lawyer the firm was prepared to enact cuts but was holding off for now. McGuireWoods in 2019 saw a 4.5% increase in gross revenue, from $817 million to $854 million, and had a strong first quarter as well.

Hogan Lovells, which saw its total revenue rise 6% to $2.25 billion in 2019, is spreading out its partner distributions and bonuses rather than paying them all at once in May, and has reduced the length of its U.S. summer associate program as a result of the pandemic.

At the same time, even as the industry fears dampened demand, the regulatory uncertainties and economic havoc sparked by the coronavirus are creating opportunities for some firms. Law firms with strong lobbying practices are poised to benefit as industries beg for federal relief from the coronavirus' economic effects.

Arnold & Porter was the only firm in the group that saw its overall revenue dip into negative territory last year. With its top line dropping from $961 million to $951 million, it'll take the firm at least another year to crack the $1 billion threshold.

Squire and Steptoe & Johnson saw relatively flat revenue growth last year, with their top lines increasing by just under 1%. Jones Day saw only 1% growth in its receipts, causing the firm to drop to 10th place on the Am Law 100. The firm is in danger of falling out of the top 10 next year—only $68 million separates it from a surging Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which posted double-digit revenue gains to become the 11th U.S. law firm to hit the $2 billion revenue mark.

For several D.C. powerhouses, 2019 served as excellent capstones of the decade. Leaders at both Akin Gump and Sidley Austin were celebrating 10 years of continuous growth; the two firms grossed $1.14 billion and $2.337 billion in 2019, respectively. Likewise for Covington—the $1.187 billion the firm pulled in last year was nearly double its overall gross in 2010.

Wilmer's total revenue grew by 3.1% to $1.184 billion in 2019, an increase that was driven by the firm's commercial litigation, intellectual property, corporate work and congressional investigations practices. Morgan Lewis—founded in Philadelphia but home to more lawyers in the capital—saw its top line revenue increase by 8.1% to $2.265 billion in 2019, allowing the firm to overtake Hogan Lovells for 7th place on the Am Law 100.

Williams & Connolly's revenue grew by 2% last year, but it wasn't enough to keep it on the Am Law 100.

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The 2020 Am Law 100 Report