As it negotiated a key merger in New York that came to fruition early this year, Duane Morris surpassed the half-billion mark in gross revenue last year, and managed to boost partner profits despite growth in the equity partner tier.

The firm saw revenue growth of 3.8%, from $491.6 million in 2018 to $510.3 million last year, while revenue per lawyer increased by 5.9%, to $775,000.

As net income grew by 6.7% to $136 million on a slightly wider profit margin, profits per equity partner were up 5.1%, reaching $1.06 million. Duane Morris surpassed PEP of $1 million for the first time in 2018.

Firm chairman Matt Taylor said the 2019 performance adds to more than a decade of sustained growth for the firm. "That consistency is a big part of our story," he said.

Factoring into revenue and profits was a rate increase of 4-4.5%, Taylor said. The firm didn't make any specific cost-cutting moves, he said, but continued to lean on an operations and finance team that brought costs in under budget.

One expense that increased was associate salaries, which increased to $180,000 for first-years in the firm's larger markets, Taylor said.

Asked further about the increase in RPL, Taylor said Duane Morris has shifted to an industry-focused strategy, which has held lawyers drive more revenue, particularly in corporate practices and in the nonequity partner tier.

"We've got more nonequity partners than equity partners, as most firms do in our peer group, and to see our nonequity partners get busier and more productive was really good to see," he said.

The firm saw head count decrease by 2%, to 658, which Taylor said was expected due to some moves in-house, some "managed departures," and some planned retirements. Meanwhile, the equity partner tier grew by two lawyers, to 128, while the nonequity partnership shrank 2.7%, to 214.

Those head count changes bucked the trend among Pennsylvania-based firms, where a recent study by Citi Private Bank found that total lawyer head count increased by 2.1% on average in 2019, while equity partner head count decreased by 1.2% on average.

Taylor said the equity partner tier growth included five or six people who were promoted internally, including multiple women and multiple diverse lawyers. "That's also codified in our strategic plan to seek and look for those opportunities to elevate to equity partner," he added.

The 2019 head count changes do not include the results of a merger with midsize New York firm Satterlee Stephens, which Duane Morris finalized earlier this month, and worked on for a good portion of 2019. Taylor said that merger, when it was still just a potential combination, had no impact on 2019 financial performance or decision-making regarding staff or attorneys.

In terms of practice activity, Taylor said no group underperformed. He said complex litigators had an especially busy 2019, with significant matters in practices including antitrust, white-collar, medical devices and products liability. Bankruptcy has also seen a major uptick in activity, he said, and the corporate group had an especially busy second half.

Around the globe, the firm added partners internationally in London and Singapore. Taylor said London revenue was up consistent with firmwide revenue in percentage, and that office added four key new partners in the second half of 2019, and 10 lawyers overall, in employment, M&A, debt financing and construction litigation.

"We see London as a growth market," Taylor said.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2020, Taylor said Duane Morris has plans for additional growth in London in the near future, as well as Northern California.

"We're very bullish about our growth strategy," he said. "I'm out there looking for growth, and that's taking a lot of my time."