McDermott's litigation group, on the other hand, saw activity levels drop after the settlement of a number of weighty disputes it was handling for clients such as Brocade Communications Systems Inc. and Celanese Corporation. Sacripanti says that many of the firm's practices across Europe were also “slightly down” due to inclement market conditions.
Despite having stabilized its fiscal performance after steep declines in both 2009 and 2010, McDermott’s finances continue to lag behind their prerecession levels. (In 2008 the firm posted revenues of $966 million, revenue per lawyer of $915,000, profit per partner of $1.52 million, and a profit margin of 42 percent.)
Looking ahead to 2013, Sacripanti says that although it would be “difficult to repeat” McDermott's extraordinary activity in the lateral recruitment market, he remains cautiously optimistic for the firm’s overall prospects for growth. He once again predicts an increase in both revenue and profits.
“There is still a lot of economic uncertainty with the fiscal cliff and the sequester, and we’ll continue to be conservative as that’s the way we run the business,” he says. “But we will continue to grow.”
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.
