More and more firms are starting to report their financials. And it looks like it's the start of the long march back to profits for the profession. Except for CMS Cameron McKenna. Check out our ongoing table of results here.
Berwin Leighton Paisner has pushed turnover up six per cent on last year, up from £180m to £191m. And profits are up too, from £34m to £41.1m, a rise of 22%. Pretty good going. At the top of the firm, that means PEP is up 9% to £455,000. Last year was a real annus horribilis for BLP, so sweaty brows will be mopped with relief.
Meanwhile SJ Berwin partners are cracking open the sparkling wine too. Although it's going to be Lambrini rather than Krug. Despite a 7% fall in turnover, PEP was up 9% to £447,000. Hardly the greatest comeback since Lazarus, but comforting reading, especially given the horrific time the firm had during the crunch.
Elsewhere, Clyde & Co achieved a 10% rise in PEP, taking partners to £605,000, on the back of a 3.8% rise in turnover, now up to £192m. Nice work if you can get it. But RollOnFriday readers will remember that getting up the ranks at Clydes is tricky - even if you achieve the status ofmilk monitor Legal Director, there's no extra cash.
Bevan Brittan somehow managed to convert a 4% drop in turnover (to £37.7m) to a 40% increase in PEP which now stands at £286,000. The firm said it had managed to pull off such a hike by tidying up its balance sheet and seeing a number of partners retire. Brilliant. CEO Andrew Manning said that he was pleased with "the achievements we have made to reduce the firm's debt and maintaining [overall firm] profits at last year's levels in another difficult year".
Beachcroft, famous mainly for the buttock-beer episode, increased profits from £22.8m to £24.5m and afforded each equity partner a bump of 4.3% to an average of £314,000. Which is jolly nice. But RollOnFriday has learnt that support staff have not had a pay rise for two and a half years. A spokewoman for the firm said "We are very aware that most salaries, not just those of support staff, have been static for a period...[W]hilst salary levels have been controlled carefully we have continued to maintain a bonus pot which does allow some reward for performance and the amount of this pot has been increased this year to enable us to reward all those who had earned it under the rules of the scheme". OK, right. Beachcrofters - let us know when you get your hands on that bonus and whether it beats the partners' 4.3% rise.
And finally, the wooden spoon goes to CMS Cameron McKenna. The firm posted an 11% drop in turnover to £214m and an 18% drop in PEP - although that is still a wallet-friendly £453,000. Managing Partner Duncan Weston said that "last year was a challenging period for us and many of our clients", and pointed out that the figures "also reflect the costs of restructuring our UK and Russian businesses". Or, as the managing partner of every other law firm would say , the figures "reflect the fact that Camerons has done really badly".
Tip Off ROF
Berwin Leighton Paisner has pushed turnover up six per cent on last year, up from £180m to £191m. And profits are up too, from £34m to £41.1m, a rise of 22%. Pretty good going. At the top of the firm, that means PEP is up 9% to £455,000. Last year was a real annus horribilis for BLP, so sweaty brows will be mopped with relief.
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Scenes in several law firms except Cameron McKenna yesterday |
Meanwhile SJ Berwin partners are cracking open the sparkling wine too. Although it's going to be Lambrini rather than Krug. Despite a 7% fall in turnover, PEP was up 9% to £447,000. Hardly the greatest comeback since Lazarus, but comforting reading, especially given the horrific time the firm had during the crunch.
Elsewhere, Clyde & Co achieved a 10% rise in PEP, taking partners to £605,000, on the back of a 3.8% rise in turnover, now up to £192m. Nice work if you can get it. But RollOnFriday readers will remember that getting up the ranks at Clydes is tricky - even if you achieve the status of
Bevan Brittan somehow managed to convert a 4% drop in turnover (to £37.7m) to a 40% increase in PEP which now stands at £286,000. The firm said it had managed to pull off such a hike by tidying up its balance sheet and seeing a number of partners retire. Brilliant. CEO Andrew Manning said that he was pleased with "the achievements we have made to reduce the firm's debt and maintaining [overall firm] profits at last year's levels in another difficult year".
Beachcroft, famous mainly for the buttock-beer episode, increased profits from £22.8m to £24.5m and afforded each equity partner a bump of 4.3% to an average of £314,000. Which is jolly nice. But RollOnFriday has learnt that support staff have not had a pay rise for two and a half years. A spokewoman for the firm said "We are very aware that most salaries, not just those of support staff, have been static for a period...[W]hilst salary levels have been controlled carefully we have continued to maintain a bonus pot which does allow some reward for performance and the amount of this pot has been increased this year to enable us to reward all those who had earned it under the rules of the scheme". OK, right. Beachcrofters - let us know when you get your hands on that bonus and whether it beats the partners' 4.3% rise.
And finally, the wooden spoon goes to CMS Cameron McKenna. The firm posted an 11% drop in turnover to £214m and an 18% drop in PEP - although that is still a wallet-friendly £453,000. Managing Partner Duncan Weston said that "last year was a challenging period for us and many of our clients", and pointed out that the figures "also reflect the costs of restructuring our UK and Russian businesses". Or, as the managing partner of every other law firm would say , the figures "reflect the fact that Camerons has done really badly".