Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
- Designation: New York
- Head Count: 476
- Gross Revenues: $444,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $935,000
- Profits Per Partner: $1,315,000
- Year Over Year Change: 3
Many firms were hit hard by the economic downturn, but perhaps none as hard as Fried, Frank. A largely transactional firm, known for its practices in M&A, securities regulation, antitrust, and bankruptcy and restructuring, it finished last (out of 84 firms) in The American Lawyer’s Recession Performance Index. Between 2007 and 2009, gross revenue suffered a compound annual growth rate of minus 11 percent, and profits per partner was a negative 10 percent. More than 100 lawyer positions were cut (including equity partners), foreign offices were trimmed, and associate start dates were delayed. In 2008 alone, profits per partner plunged by 23 percent, to $1.23 million.
But Fried, Frank, it turned out, wasn’t down for the count. The firm learned to do more with less, and by the end of 2010, profits per partner were nearly equal their prerecession figure of $1.6 million. While that year’s revenue was slightly more than $471 million (putting the firm sixtieth on the 2011 Am Law 100 list), it was an 11 percent increase from 2009.
In some ways, however, this was not the same Fried, Frank. The head count, for example, wasn’t just lower, but also included—for the first time ever—nonequity partners. But in other ways, Fried, Frank was back to basics, benefiting from an uptick in the transactional work that has traditionally been its bread and butter. In The American Lawyer’s 2011 Corporate Scorecard, the firm ranked fifth in private equity (by number of transactions), second (by value) as counsel to investment advisers in M&A, and third (by value) as underwriter’s counsel in U.S. IPOs. Associate morale was still in need of a boost—the firm ranked 121st of 137 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2010 Midlevel Associates Survey and 101st of 126 in 2011, but at least that figure, like other key measures at Fried, Frank, was heading in the right direction.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 65 | 3 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 65 | 3 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 80 | 1 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | NR | N/A | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 97 | 16 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 123 | 16 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 101 | no change | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 74 | 25 | Summer programs |
In the News
D.C. MOVES
: The National Law Journal : March 18, 2013
Amendments Propose Extending 'Meet and Confer' Requirement
Michael B. de Leeuw and Eric A. Hirsch : New York Law Journal : March 18, 2013
Michael B. de Leeuw and Eric A. Hirsch of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson review proposed amendments to the rules governing preliminary conferences in non-Commercial Division cases that require discussion of e-discovery issues on cases "reasonably likely" to involve e-discovery, along with providing guidance as to which cases those might be and what topics should be discussed.
The Churn: Lateral Moves in the Am Law 200
Sara Randazzo : The Am Law Daily : March 15, 2013
Allen & Overy loses a U.S. practice group leader; an associate general counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative joins K&L Gates; and an Internet law and policy attorney heads to Steptoe & Johnson. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
K&L Gates Boosts Hong Kong Office With Two New Partners
Jessica Seah : The Asian Lawyer : March 11, 2013
K&L Gates has added two new partners to its Hong Kong office. Allen & Overy's David Johnson advises Asian companies, sovereigns, issuers and underwriters on capital markets and M&A transactions. Orrick's Samuel Ngo is a litigator representing China- and Hong Kong-listed companies on disputes relating to insolvency, insurance, and construction.
The Bankruptcy Files: Ailing Detroit Hires Jones Day
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : March 11, 2013
Detroit has retained Jones Day—a firm known for handling restructuring work across the industrial Midwest, including key clients in the U.S. auto industry—as it seeks to fight the state of Michigan's decision to impose an emergency financial manager on the Motor City. Other Am Law 200 firms like Akin Gump, Kirkland & Ellis, Quarles & Brady, Reed Smith, and SNR Denton have landed roles on the latest round of noteworthy bankruptcy filings.
K&L Gates Boosts Hong Kong with Two New Partners
Jessica Seah : The Asian Lawyer : March 8, 2013
David Johnson and Samuel Ngo are joining the U.S. firm from Allen & Overy and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, respectively.
How Statutory Complexity Can Erode Respect for the Law
Steven M. Witzel : New York Law Journal : March 7, 2013
In his Corporate Crime column, Steven M. Witzel, a partner of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, writes that while the number of industries and businesses ruled by complex regulatory schemes continues to climb, there are insufficient resources and regulators to fully and effectively enforce these schemes.
The Am Law 100, the Early Numbers: Stroock Sees Revenue Dip, Profits Inch Up
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : March 6, 2013
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan saw gross revenue dip slightly in 2012 to $264 million, while profits per partner were almost flat at $1.2 million. The news comes as Stroock moves to let go of an undetermined number of secretaries in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, even as the firm prepares to open a new office in Washington, D.C.
The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : March 5, 2013
Lawyers leave the government to join Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Jones Day; and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; McDermott Will & Emery expands in Paris with an Africa-focused mining trio; and a Latham & Watkins partner moves to Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo in San Francisco. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
- Adams and Reese
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
- Allen & Overy
- Anderson Kill & Olick
- Arthur Cox
- Ashurst
- Baker & McKenzie
- Brown Rudnick
- Buist Moore
- Cahill Gordon & Reindel
- Clayton Utz
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Clifford Chance
- Cooley
- Covington & Burling
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Dewey & LeBoeuf
- Diamond McCarthy
- Dickstein Shapiro
- DLA Piper
- Dorsey & Whitney
- Dreier LLP
- Duane Morris
- Eversheds
- Fish & Richardson
- Freehills
- Freshfields
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
- Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian
- Herbert Smith
- Herrick, Feinstein
- Hogan Lovells
- Howrey
- Jenner & Block
- Jones Day
- K&L Gates
- Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Latham & Watkins
- Linklaters
- Mallesons Stephen Jaques
- McKool Smith
- Minter Ellison
- Moore & Van Allen
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
- Morrison & Foerster
- Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
- Nexsen Pruet
- Nixon Peabody
- Norton Rose
- O?Melveny & Myers
- Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein
- Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman
- Proskauer Rose
- Reed Smith
- Ropes & Gray
- Ruden McClosky
- Shea & Gould
- Shearman & Sterling
- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
- Simmons & Simmons
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Vinson & Elkins
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges
- White & Case
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
- Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice
