Last year’s performance by New York’s top law firms saw them outperform the overall industry average according to data collected by ALM. Notably, the top firms managed to make a robust recovery from a somewhat sluggish 2022, demonstrating exceptional performance when compared to their peers in other states.
An in-depth analysis by Patrick Smith at Law.com uncovered the performance of 19 esteemed New York firms. According to Smith’s report, these firms showed impressive growth in a number of categories: average year-over-year revenue increased by 7.4%, average revenue per lawyer rose by 4.5%, profits per equity partner grew by 8.8%, and net income saw an overall boost of 10.1%.
However, performance varied among firms. For instance, Shearman experienced a 7.7% fall in revenue, while Milbank charted a substantial 17.8% rise. Similarly, net income changes ranged from a drop of 8.2% at Debevoise & Plimpton to a hefty 22.5% boost at Cravath.
Of the 19 firms studied, 16 witnessed revenue growth, led by Milbank (17.8%), Cravath Swaine & Moore (15.8%), and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (15%). The firms seeing a drop in revenue were Shearman, Cahill Gordon & Reindel (-2.9%), and Proskauer Rose (-0.7%). Furthermore, disparity was also seen in the revenue per lawyer category.
As per the report, the top performers in terms of revenue per lawyer were Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (20.6%), Shearman (13.1%), and Cravath (11.8%). The most significant declines were recorded at Proskauer (-6.5%), Debevoise & Plimpton (-2.9%), and Cahill (-2.1%).
On the profits per equity partner (PEP) side, Cravath led the pack with an increase of 29.1%, followed by a tie between Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson (20.9%) and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (20.9%). Meanwhile, Cadwalader showed the largest drop (-9.6%).
Milbank and Willkie, Farr & Gallagher tied for the highest overall attorney headcount growth (both at 7.6%) whereas Shearman, due for a merger with Allen & Overy next month, recorded the largest headcount drop (18.4%).
Despite varying performances, as a group, New York’s top law firms fared better than their national counterparts, demonstrating superior productivity, higher average revenue growth and better expense management according to Gretta Rusanow, managing director and head of Law Firm Advisory Services, Law Firm Group at Citi.
In conclusion, the New York market continues to reign supreme in the Biglaw landscape, with its top firms setting a performance benchmark for other regions.