The Nordic region is a long way from being the boomtown it was during the dotcom years. The four firms that figure in The Lawyer Euro 100 struggled last year. The region's largest firm, Sweden's Mannheimer & Swartling, saw its revenues drop 1.2 per cent to €90.39m (£61.32m).

Mannheimer lost one of its brightest young stars when M&A/private equity partner Johan Winnerblad joined Vinge in March 2004. It was the firm's first lateral partner hire from its closest rival. Lateral partner moves are rare in Sweden and virtually unheard of between the country's two leading law firms. The only previous example occurred three years ago, when Mannheimer took two partners from Vinge. However, it did not take Vinge long to follow up this bold move: in June it took M&A partners Carl Gustaf de Geer and Goran Nystrom from Mannheimer. Since a stream of Lagerlöf & Leman lawyers departed for Linklaters, the recruitment market in Sweden has been quiet, but Vinge has done its best to resuscitate it. The firmalso took a New York-based Davis Polk&Wardwell associate on as a partner last June. Vinge closed the revenue gap on Mannheimer slightly. Turnover was up 3.5 per cent to €86m (£58.35m), while profit per equity partner (PEP) in Vinge's Stockholm office remained strong at €490,000 (£332,450).

Denmark's big two also had a fairly staid year. Bech-Bruun Dragsted recorded a small drop in revenues to €65m (£44.1m), which can be attributed in part to the firm's decision to drop its retirement age to 65, which resulted in a slew of partner departures. The firmhas started to become more outward-facing. It is keen to hook up with Swedish and Norwegian firms and recruited its first UK partner when it took Ian Tokley from Herbert Smith. Bech-Bruun's chief domestic rival Kromann Reumert also had a quiet year, with revenues rising to €65m (£44.1m). The firm scooped roles on the two largest M&A deals involving Danish companies: Carlsberg on its €2.6m (£1.8m) purchase of Carlsberg Breweries from Orkla; and Swedish bank FöreningsSparbanken on the €1.3m (£882,000) sale of FIH to Kaupthing.