Well, now we know which firms were swimming naked after all. In fiscal 2012, The Am Law 100 posted modest gains on our key metrics. For gross revenue, revenue per lawyer, and profits per partners, firms notched low single-digit year-over-year increases. But these averages belied the unevenness of the recovery. Only 76 firms reported gross revenue increases last year. And only 66 firms had profit per partner increasesdown from 80 firms and 72 firms, respectively, on the previous year’s Am Law 100 list.
Who were the lucky ones? They tended to have an international footprint, a strong transactions group, and a diverse set of practice areas. (The boutique labor and employment and immigration firms were the exception.) Many of these firms also have a strong brand and are known by clients for standout work in a particular area. The firms that did well also held the line on their equity partner head count and continued to raise rates, increase billable hours, or both. Some stood out for capitalizing on high-growth industries. Bracewell & Giuliani saw its profits and RPL skyrocket on energy work last year. Scrappy Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy landed on The Am Law 100 thanks to international demand for immigration work.
