Bryan Cave London turnover up 22 per cent

The London office of St Louis-headquartered US firm Bryan Cave has recorded a 22.4 per cent leap in turnover for 2007.

Revenue topped $28.4m (£14.3m) last year, compared to $23.2m ($11.7m) in 2006.

The firm did not release its London profits for 2007.

Turnover was boosted by stellar performance in the corporate finance, litigation and banking and finance practices, according to managing partner Anthony Fiducia.

Fiducia pledged to continue Bryan Cave’s London push with more lateral hires in 2008.

Fiducia said: “We are finding it quite easy to attract lateral hires because we have a good story to tell. [The firm] is growing fast.
"What we are doing is adding partners and counsel to fill skill sets.”

The firm is preparing to move out of its Cannon Street offices into larger premises to make room for a 45-strong team of fee earners. It is also recruiting restructuring and insolvency lawyers.

However an aggressive expansion policy in the capital involving hiring four new partners and two counsel during 2007, combined with the strength of the pound against the dollar, saw revenue per lawyer fall from $912,470 (£521,410) in 2007 to $845,450 (£427,000) last year.

Last month, The Lawyer reported comments by Bryan Cave’s new US leadership re-affirming the firm’s commitment to expanding the London office.

Global management committee chairman Dennis Fleischmann said the city was at the heart of the firm’s global strategy, adding: “London is right at the top of the list of places we’d like to grow.”