View an interactive chart of early law firm finance reports.
After a two-year surge in profits-per-equity-partner, Jenner & Block saw that number dip 3.6 percent, to $1.49 million, in 2012, according to The American Lawyer's reporting. The firm's gross revenue and revenue-per-lawyer figures, meanwhile, were essentially flat, with the former dipping 0.4 percent to $387.5 million and the latter slipping .06 percent to $895,000.
The stagnant results come on the heels of a run that, as we reported last year, saw Jenner's PPP rise a stunning 29 percent in 2010 and a healthy 11.2 percent in 2011.
In a statement issued by the firm, Jenner managing partner Susan Levy was sanguine about the firm's financial performance last year.
“Jenner & Block’s revenues and profits have increased substantially over the last several years," Levy said in the statement. "Our 2011 financial results were the highest in the firm’s history. Our 2012 numbers are flat or only slightly below those of 2011. We are pleased with our 2012 results and look forward to a strong 2013."
Jenner's 2012 results appear to lag behind the average of what other large law firms achieved last year according to a survey released this week by Wells Fargo Private Bank's Legal Specialty Group.
As The Am Law Daily reported Tuesday, the bank looked at just over 100 firms—more than 50 in The Am Law 100, approximately 40 in the Second Hundred, and none of them identified by name—and determined that gross revenue for the group grew an average of 5 percent, net income rose 6 percent, and profits per equity partner increased by 5 percent last year. At the same time, Jeff Grossman, managing director for the legal specialty group, noted in discussing the survey that Am Law Second Hundred firms fared slightly better than those in The Am Law 100.
In contrast to the previous two years, Jenner did not cut its absolute number of equity partners. In fact, the firm increased those ranks by one, from 109 to 110. But Jenner also continued to expand its nonequity ranks, which grew 12 percent, from 83 in 2011 to 93 in 2012. Overall attorney head count, meanwhile, was essentially flat, falling by one to 432.
This report is part of The Am Law Daily's early coverage of 2012 financial results of The Am Law 100/200. Final rankings and full results for The Am Law 100 will be published in The American Lawyer's May 2013 issue and on AmericanLawyer.com. The Am Law Second Hundred will be published in the June issue.
