DLA Piper's US and EMEA revenues top $2bn
DLA Piper's US and EMEA revenues top $2bn" />DLA Piper has become the latest firm to break the $2bn (£1.01bn) revenue barrier, posting global revenues of $2.1bn (£1.07bn) in the 2007 calendar year.
The $2.1bn is a combined figure for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and US operations although they continue to operate separate profit pools.
As exclusively revealed in The Lawyer (11 February), Latham & Watkins and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom were the first US firms to break the $2bn barrier.
For DLA Piper, this represents a rise in global fee income of around 19 per cent on the previous year’s figure and makes the firm one of the largest in the world in terms of turnover.
The firm has also posted a rise in profit per equity partner (PEP) although the percentage increase was more muted than the revenue rise at just over 8 per cent.
Due to the dollar exchange rate there has been a drop in PEP in sterling terms. In 2006 PEP came in at $1.2m, which translated to £643,000 at the time. Due to a weaker dollar in 2007 the figures were $1.3m and £640,000.
The overall PEP figure represents a reduction in the rate of profitability growth seen over the preceding year but, according to the firm, this can be put down to a high level of investment over the course of the 12 months.
The firm has made numerous lateral hires around the globe and has invested in new offices in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
