Latham boosts both revenue and partner profits after strong 2012 for firm

Latham & Watkins has posted 3.4% growth in global revenues and a 7.4% rise in average profit per equity partner (PEP) for the 2012 calendar year.

Revenue at the US firm grew to $2.226bn (£1.43bn) in 2012, while PEP hit $2.443m (£1.57m) and revenue per lawyer grew by 2.4% to $1.095m (£703,000).

The financial figures come on the back of a very strong 2011 for the firm, when it posted an impressive 11.6% rise in turnover to $2.15bn (£1.37bn), pushing it to fourth place in the list of global law firms by revenue.

The firm does not break down revenue by office, but London partner and executive committee member Michael Bond said the City arm, which has over 250 lawyers, was a strong contributor to the figures.

"Most people would recognise last year was challenging in many of our markets, and we were very pleased that we got the market share we did from our clients with their most complex, cross-border mandates," said Bond.

In a statement, Latham's chairman and managing partner Robert Dell said: "We are gratified that the demand for our legal services has remained strong in the face of a choppy global economic climate, and we recognise that this success comes from our dedication to providing impeccable client service across our diverse practice areas."

Major mandates for the firm in 2012 included advising Lucasfilm on its $4.05bn (£2.5bn) acquisition by The Walt Disney Company, as well as a lead role on Manchester United's initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.

Latham is the latest in a string of US firms to announce global revenues, including litigation specialists Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which once again enjoyed a successful year, posting double-digit growth of 14% to $820.7m (£520.6m), up from $723.5m (£460.9m) in 2011.

Elsewhere, Dechert continued to show growth, with revenues up by almost 9% to $729m (£462m), while McDermott Will & Emery also saw gross revenue increase 3% to $851m (£539m).

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