Profits rise at Florida's Akerman as law firms expect banner year - Reuters
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(Reuters) - One of the first U.S. law firms to report 2021 financial results said Friday it saw spikes in profitability and revenue in its most recent fiscal year, offering another glimpse at how firms have thrived in the pandemic.
Miami-founded law firm Akerman said its average equity partner profits surged by 21.55% in its latest fiscal year, which ended Oct. 31. That was helped along by an 8% drop in its equity partner head count, but the firm said it also saw a 9.3% jump in gross revenue, to $493.7 million. (The firm did not provide a dollar figure for its partner profits.)
"It has been an incredibly busy year for the firm," said Scott Meyers, chairman and CEO of the 700-lawyer firm.
It's not alone. Baker McKenzie, one of the largest law firms in the world, said last month that it crossed the $3 billion revenue threshold for the first time, thanks to a $7.8% increase in its fiscal 2021. Its profits per equity partner grew by 41.5% compared to 2020.
The U.S. legal industry appears to be having "certainly the best year I can remember in the last decade," said Joe Mendola, senior director of sales for Wells Fargo Private Bank Legal Specialty Group.
Mendola declined to comment on specific firms, but Wells Fargo earlier this week found that U.S. law firm revenue climbed 14% on average during the first nine months of 2021 over the same period last year.
Net income, which is distributed among the equity or share-holding partners at a firm, rose 27% on average among the 50 highest-grossing U.S. law firms as ranked by The American Lawyer, compared to a 17% increase for lower-ranked firms, Mendola said. (Akerman was No. 86 in the latest Am Law rankings.)
Meyers attributed the increases to "huge, pent-up demand" from clients spanning litigation, regulatory and transactional work. Both Wells Fargo and Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor Index have reported demand for legal services is up.
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source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/profits-rise-floridas-akerman-law-firms-expect-banner-year-2021-11-19/
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