Our profitability index metric looks at a firm’s ability to convert revenue into profits. This metric, introduced in 1985, seeks to demonstrate which firms best balance leverage and profit margin for the highest possible profits per partner.
We calculate the profitability index by dividing profits per partner by revenue per lawyer. On this chart, leverage is the ratio of all lawyers (minus equity partners) to equity partners; profit margin is the ratio of net income to gross revenue multiplied by 100 and rounded to the nearest whole number. For more details, see “ A Guide to Our Methodology”.
