Top 100 law firms announce GBP 4bn earnings
1st September 2009
British law firms earned more than GBP 4 billion last year, despite suffering a dip in profits for the first time in a decade, it has been revealed.
The survey was carried out by trade magazine Legal Business and showed that senior partners in leading law firms earned more than GBP 1 million.
Average profit per equity partner at 20 firms was higher than GBP 500,000, with the top 100 firms profit falling from GBP 4.7 billion in 2007-08.
Among the top 100 firms, the average equity partner earned more than GBP 350,000.
Commenting on the survey, editor of Legal Business Jim Baxter told The Times that figures may even embarrass some law firms concerned over how to explain their profits to struggling clients.
He said: 'While poor compared to their performance over the past few years, these figures would be to die for in many other industries.
'The commercial law firm model has proven itself extremely resilient.'