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All Hail the Am Law 100!

Am Law 100 2008 profits per partner PPP law firm ATL.jpgO happy day! The AmLaw 100 rankings are out. For the rankings, click here; for commentary by Aric Press and John O’Connor, click here. (Note: registration / subscription may be required.)

We’re surprised that the WSJ Law Blog’s post on the release of the rankings has garnered so few comments (just four as of the time of this posting). The Am Law 100 is a big, big deal. As Ashby Jones explains:

The AmLaw 100, or the American Lawyer magazine’s annual list of the top-grossing law firms for the year previous, represents not only a boatload of work for AmLaw staffers. For law firm heads, it’s a report card of sorts. For law students and lawyers looking to move laterally, it’s a handy reference guide to who’s hot and who’s not. For GCs and other industry watchers, it’s a snapshot of BigLaw as a whole.

Membership in the Am Law 100 depends on a law firm’s total revenue. The top five firms all chalked up double-digit increases in revenue, and the top two broke the $2 billion mark. Here are the top five (which are in the same rank order this year as last year):

Am Law 100 top five firms ATL Above the Law blog.jpg

Although the Am Law 100 firms are ranked by revenue, industry watchers generally pay more attention to the hallowed metric of “PPP,” or “profits per partner.” More data and discussion, about PPP and other subjects, after the jump.

Some PPP highlights, from Aric Press and John O’Connor’s write-up:

Nineteen firms had profits per partner of $2 million or more, four more than in 2006. Three of the 19 firms each decreased their equity partner ranks by 4 percent last year: Dechert, Milbank, and Weil, Gotshal. Once again, Wachtell, Lipton led the pack, this time with a record-breaking PPP of $4.9 million.

Five million dollars per partner? That’s i-banking-esque.

Other strong performers on the profits front, noted by the WSJ Law Blog:

Wachtell was followed by Cravath ($3.3 million); Sullivan & Cromwell ($3.06 million); Quinn Emanuel ($3.01 million); and Simpson Thacher ($2.88 million). The year was especially good for Quinn Emanuel, which saw a 23% jump in PPP.

We’re not surprised by Quinn Emanuel’s strong performance — and we’d bet on this litigation powerhouse to fare better during the downturn than its more transaction-focused competitors.

So, what does the future hold for America’s large law firms? Aric Press, editor in chief of the American Lawyer, isn’t bullish on Biglaw:

It was fun while it lasted. In 2007, The Am Law 100-the top-grossing law firms in the United States-finished the best sustained growth spurt since The American Lawyer began tracking firm financials in 1984. For the first time, the firms showed five consecutive years of better-than-average growth in both revenue per lawyer, the key measure of law firm financial success, and profits per partner, the metric that has turned law firm managers into contortionists.

How good was this run? Since 2003, average RPL [revenue per lawyer] has increased by $205,000. Before that, it took the firms ten years, from 1992 to 2002, to improve that much. The relative gain in profits was even more impressive. Since 2003, PPP [profit per partner] has jumped by $438,000, to an average of $1.3 million. It took the Am Law 100 firms 15 years, from 1987 to 2002, to make a similar gain…..

The great run may be over. The sharp decrease in deal activity is well-known. And the classic countercyclical practices-litigation and bankruptcy-have not yet lifted all boats. Also, there is a structural indicator that points to weakness. For the first time since the bust of 2001, the growth in head count noticeably exceeded the growth in RPL (in 2002, the two metrics essentially tied.) Coupled to the body count was the much brooded-about associate salary increases last year. Many consultants argue that those costs will be fully felt this year, precisely when demand for high-priced legal help may fall.

Two Firms Pass the $2 Billion Mark: The 2008 Am Law 100 (rankings by revenue) [American Lawyer (registration / subscription)]
The 2008 Am Law 100: Lessons of The Am Law 100 [American Lawyer (registration / subscription)]
AmLaw 100 Rankings: Is the Golden Age of Growth Over? [WSJ Law Blog]

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