Holman Fenwick Willan

UK 200 RESULTS 2010

Following a stonking year in 2008-09, when turnover mushroomed by 27 per cent and average profit per equity partner (PEP) by 26 per cent, Holman Fenwick Willan experienced little growth in 2009-10. Turnover increased by 1 per cent, from £98.7m to £99.6m, while PEP was up by 2.5 per cent, from £514,000 to £527,000.

The firm remains firmly focused on litigation, with 82 per cent of total revenue (£81.6m) coming from the 78-partner litigation group. While the firm also remains committed to expanding into key strategic jurisdictions, London’s contribution to total turnover has grown as a percentage year-on-year. In 2008-09 the firm’s UK practice accounted for 48 per cent of the total (£47.4m). In 2009-10 it accounted for 56 per cent (£55.9m).

This is despite the firm launching in Sydney and forming associations in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia during the year.

In September 2009 the firm hired Blake Dawson partner Alex Baykitch for the Sydney launch. At the beginning of 2010 it formed a best friends relationship with Abu Dhabi firm Salem Al Maddfa Advocates & Legal Consultants while also creating a formal link with Saudi lawyer Faisal Al Lazam.

Holman Fenwick operates a modified lockstep remuneration system. Progression up the ladder is discretionary and dependent on whether partners meets their individual financial and soft targets – the latter including contribution to areas such as corporate social responsibility. At best it takes partners seven years to progress to the top of the equity ladder.

In the past financial year those entering the equity received a profit share of £320,000, while plateau partners took home £640,000. This was marginally down on the spread in 2008-09, which ran from £325,000 to £650,000.

UK 200 RESULTS 2009

Holman Fenwick Willan’s (HFW) litigation bias helped it to deliver double-digit growth in both turnover and profit in 2008-09.

The firm’s turnover rocketed by a whopping 27 per cent from £77.6m to £98.7m. Net profit meanwhile jumped by nearly the same amount, up almost 26 per cent from £25.4m to £31.9m.

Average profit, however, only increased by 13.5 per cent from £453,000 to £514,000. The equity spread across all of HFW’s offices was £325,000 to £650,00, a healthy improvement on last year’s figures of £270,000 to £540,000.

The firm did not attribute the jump in turnover to any single case in particular, claiming instead it had experienced consistent month-on-month growth.

The lion’s share of HFW’s turnover was generated by the 83-partner litigation practice, which netted £82m or just over 83 per cent of gross fees. London accounted for 48 per cent of the firm’s overall revenue.

HFW has not so far needed any redundancy programmes and has instead upped the number of its qualified lawyers from 257 to 286 globally. The number of partners also increased from 106 to 114. The most notable lateral hires were in HFW’s Melbourne office, which saw the arrival of four new senior lawyers including corporate partner Aaron Jordan from Australian law firm Oakley Thompson & Co and insurance consultant Philip Purcell.

At the junior end HFW boasted a 100 per cent retention rate for its September 2009 qualifiers and did not defer the start dates of any of its future trainees.

The firm operates a modified lockstep. Progression up the ladder is discretionary and dependent on whether a partner meets their individual financial and soft targets – the latter including contribution to corporate social responsibility initiatives for instance. At best it takes partners seven years to progress to the top of the equity ladder.

HFW management says they are not taking this year’s results for granted. The focus for 2009-10 is on prudent management of costs. And though redundancies have to date been ruled-out the firm is exploring the possibility of better utilising its overseas support staff, for instance providing 24-hour telephone support out of Asia rather than from London.