Profit Drops 30 Percent at U.K.’s Largest Law Firms
Legal World
Profit at the 100 highest-grossing U.K. law firms fell 30 percent on average during the past year as deal work declined with the recession, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP survey.
Profits per partner at the top 10 U.K. firms averaged 872,000 pounds ($1.44 million), a 21 percent decrease, according to PwC. Partners at the second tier of law firms, ranked 11 to 25, brought in around 444,000 pounds and saw “the greatest average fall in U.K. income,” the accounting firm said.
“This year has seen the greatest turmoil in the law firm sector since our survey began in 1991,” Alistair Rose, a PwC partner, said in a statement. The effect of the economic crisis “has been even greater than we anticipated across the sector.”
Large law firms in the U.S. and U.K. have been forced to cut costs by firing lawyers, reducing pay and deferring the hiring of first-year attorneys as they weather a decline in legal work.
Allen & Overy LLP, the fourth-highest-grossing U.K. law firm, said revenue fell 7 percent to 511 million pounds for the first six months of the financial year that began May 1. Revenue at Simmons & Simmons LLP, also based in London, fell 16 percent to 120.3 million in the half-year period, spokesman Ibrahim Kamara said.
A spokesman for Linklaters LLP, the highest-grossing U.K. law firm, said half-year revenue results weren’t yet available.
Related listings
-
China executes 9 Uighurs over July ethnic riots
Legal World 11/09/2009Chinese state media says an initial group of nine Uighurs have been executed for taking part in July's deadly ethnic rioting in the country's far west.The China News Service reported Monday that the nine were put to death recently but gave no specifi...
-
Swiss court to assess Polanski bail appeal
Legal World 11/04/2009Roman Polanski has re-appealed to the Swiss courts to be released from prison on bail, officials said Tuesday, the latest step in the director's protracted legal battle to avoid extradition to the United States.The Swiss Criminal Court declined to co...
-
China Mobile Settles Anti-Monopoly Lawsuit
Legal World 10/27/2009China Mobile Communications Corp., owner of the world’s biggest phone company by subscribers, settled a lawsuit filed by a customer alleging the carrier abused its market position to charge users fees. Zhou Ze, a lawyer with the Beijing Wentian Law F...
Victorville CA DUI defense Attorneys
The outcome of a DUI defense will have a long-term effect on anyone’s life, making the decision to receive legal representation an easy one. The fact is, most people accused of a DUI are first offenders with no criminal background. Whether this is your first run in with the law or you have had previous convictions, you are in need of a DUI defense attorney.
The charges you are facing for a DUI range from fines, a 12-month suspension on your license and worst-case scenario, prison time. Your attorney will be able to analyze your situation to decide the best way to go about your case.
Our attorneys know the tricky ways to challenge all of the DUI tests and know how to claim improper collection of evidence. We will be able to negotiate on your behalf and free you from charges and help you keep your drivers license. The DUI process can last up to several months, we can make this process easier on you. .