Shepherd & Wedderburn
UK 200 RESULTS 2010
Movement since 2009
Turnover (£M):
Profit per equity partner (£K):
Earnings per partner (£K):
Equity spread (£K):
Net profit (£M):
Profit margin (%):
Revenue per fee-earner (£K):
Revenue per lawyer (£K):
Revenue per partner (£K):
Revenue per equity partner (£K):
Total number of fee-earners:
Total number of qualified lawyers:
Total number of partners:
Total number of equity partners:
Total number of female partners:
Total number of female equity partners:
Total number of staff:
Leverage ratio (fee-earners per equity partner):
DOWN
35.3
243
185.97
138-255
8.25
23
143.5
200.6
569.4
1,038.2
246
176
62
34
13
6
413
4.18
Shepherd & Wedderburn lost its place as one of the so-called big four Scottish firms after posting an 11 per cent slide in turnover to £35.3m in 2009-10, allowing Brodies to edge past it.
That said, net profit rose marginally, from £7.6m to £8.25m, boosting the profit margin from 19 to 23 per cent. This was in part achieved by the firm moving some high-volume, lower-value work in-house to clients. For example, a chunk of medical negligence work and the team that handles it moved to the Medicakand Dental Defence Union of Scotland.
Average profit per equity partner was up from £230,000 to £243,000, with the equity spread £138,000-£255,000. The firm operates a modified lockstep that sees partners enter the equity on 55 points, gaining five in their next move. From there each step is worth an additional 10 points up to a total of 130, although the highest level currently in use is the 100-point rung.
Partners do not gain a step on an annual basis, with a remuneration committee deciding lockstep positions. The value of an equity point in 2009-10 was around £2,500, which is roughly the same as in the previous year.
During the year the firm invested in four lateral hires: disputes partner Guy Harvey from Dickinson Dees; employment head Neil Maclean from Anderson Strathern; property partner Michael Scott from SJ Berwin; and oil and gas head Kevin McGrory from Fairfield Energy.
UK 200 RESULTS 2009
Movement since 2008
Turnover (£M):
Profit per equity partner (£K):
Earnings per partner (£K):
Equity spread (£K):
Net profit (£M):
Profit margin (%):
Revenue per fee-earner (£K):
Revenue per lawyer (£K):
Revenue per partner (£K):
Revenue per equity partner (£K):
Total number of fee-earners:
Total number of qualified lawyers:
Total number of partners:
Total number of equity partners:
Total number of female partners:
Total number of female equity partners:
Total number of staff:
Leverage ratio (fee-earners per equity partner):
DOWN
39.6
230
174.2
137 - 250
7.6
19
143
196
600
1,200
277
202
66
33
15
7
486
5.12
Edinburgh-headquartered Shepherd & Wedderburn had a challenging 2008-09, with turnover falling by 7 per cent and average profit per equity partner (PEP) dropping by 26 per cent.
At the end of the year turnover stood at £39.6m, down from £42.6m a year earlier, while PEP fell from £311,000 to £230,000.
The firm's real estate and capital markets practices were hit particularly hard by the recession, with the property practice losing ground to litigation in terms of turnover. In 2006-07 the property practice accounted for 28 per cent of overall revenue, while in the last financial year that dropped to 24 per cent. Two years ago litigation accounted for 20 per cent of revenue but this had risen to 23 per cent by 2008-09.
The firm continues to be corporate-heavy, with the practice accounting for 35 per cent of revenue in 2008-09, the equivalent of £13.86m.
Restructuring and insolvency work was a major focus for the firm, which acted for the administrators of Heritable Bank, the Scottish subsidiary of Icelandic bank Landsbanki, and for the administrators of Zoom Airlines.
In terms of remuneration, the firm, which operates a modified lockstep, spent a total £11.46m on partners' pay. Of that, £7.59m was shared among the firm's 33 equity partners, with the remaining £3.87m being shared between the 33 non-equity partners. That means that, on average, salaried partners were paid around £117,000.
