Profits rise in Akerman, Florida as law firms expect record year

(Reuters) – One of the first U.S. law firms to release financial results for 2021 said on Friday it saw its profitability and revenues rise in its most recent fiscal year, offering another glimpse into how companies have performed thrived during the pandemic.

Miami-based law firm Akerman said the average profits of its financial partners jumped 21.55% in its most recent fiscal year, which ended Oct. 31. This was helped by an 8% drop in the number of its financial partners, but the firm said it saw its gross revenues rise 9.3% to $ 493.7 million. (The company did not provide a dollar figure for its partners’ profits.)

“It has been an incredibly busy year for the firm,” said Scott Meyers, chief executive officer of the 700-lawyer firm.

It is not alone. Baker McKenzie, one of the world’s largest law firms, said last month it first crossed the $ 3 billion revenue threshold, thanks to a 7.8% increase in during its 2021 fiscal year. Its profits per partner increased by 41.5% compared to 2020.

The US legal industry appears to be having “certainly the best year I can remember in the last decade,” said Joe Mendola, senior sales manager for Wells Fargo Private Bank Legal Specialty Group.

Mendola declined to comment on specific firms, but Wells Fargo found earlier this week that U.S. law firm revenues grew 14% on average in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same time period. last year.

Net income, which is distributed among the shareholders or shareholders of a firm, increased by 27% on average among the 50 most profitable American law firms according to The American Lawyer ranking, compared to an increase of 17% for lowest ranked firms. , says Mendola. (Akerman was # 86 in the latest Am Law ranking.)

Meyers attributed the increases to “huge and pent-up demand” from clients covering litigation, regulatory and transaction work. Wells Fargo and Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor Index both reported that demand for legal services was on the rise.

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