Ashurst partners will draw an average of £956,000, up from £701,000 last year, against a turnover rise of 28.5% to £275m.
The results are by far the best of any City law firm to announce its figures so far this year. The increase in profitability means the firm’s 10-year lockstep now peaks at £1.2m, up from £875,000 last year. Partners at the bottom of the lockstep stand to earn £480,000, compared with £350,000 last year.
The announcement, first reported on legalweek.com (22 June), marks the second year of strong profits growth for Ashurst, which last year saw its PEP increase by 23.6%. A working group of partners is driving the firm’s conversion to LLP status — a move that could take place as soon as October and by the end of this financial year at the latest. The conversion is likely to go to a partner vote after the summer.
Ashurst’s growth means its PEP is only marginally behind magic circle firms Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where average profits now stand at £1.015m and £1.036m respectively. However, its rate of growth exceeds both firms, which each reported 25% increases.
Managing partner Simon Bromwich said that the increase in PEP was better than the firm had expected but that it came after a year of strong performances across all offices and practices.
During the past 12 months Ashurst has recruited a number of lateral hires and promoted 20 partners internally. In January it launched an office in
Bromwich told Legal Week: “These results cannot be attributed to any one thing — it is a combination of all of our investment coming together. We have brought in a lot of laterals over the last 12-18 months and they have now settled in. Outside
A rival partner at a magic circle firm said: “The reality is that any good-quality lawyer in the
Has Ashurst climbed a division in the City hierarchy with its latest results? Have your say with the Legal Week Wiki 2007 results special.
