A modest increase in gross revenue combined with a dip in equity partner head count helped boost Irell & Manella’s profits per partner 19 percent, to $3.42 million last year.

The spike in profits came as the 212-lawyer firm’s gross revenue rose 4.5 percent, to $255 million, and the size of its one-tier partnership dipped 9.4 percent, from 53 to 48. The firm’s overall attorney head count, meanwhile, fell 4.1 percent, and its revenue per lawyer rose 9.1 percent, to $1.56 million.