| Turnover: | £306.6m |
| Profit per equity partner: | £593,000 |
| Revenue per lawyer: | £462,000 |
| Total number of lawyers: | 683 |
Despite having no international offices, Ropes & Gray is looking east to boost its international group.
In July 2006, the firm hired William Kim from Alston & Bird as a partner in the firm's international practice group. Kim served as managing director and general counsel of Daewoo from 1993 to 1997 and should help boost Ropes & Gray's visibility in South Korea and other parts of Asia.
The firm rocketed 16 places up the rankings last year to 42nd. Its 683 lawyers bring in an average of £462,000 ($840,000) each to give the firm a healthy revenue of £306.6m ($558m).
Big wins in the corporate department in particular drove the firm's financial growth. During the summer of 2005, Ropes & Gray scooped a lead role advising a consortium of private equity houses on the £6.3bn ($11.4bn) acquisition of SunGard Data Systems.
Partners Alfred Rose and Julie Jones secured the mandate thanks to their longstanding relationship with Silver Lake Partners, the Silicon Valley-based private equity house leading the seven-strong consortium.
The strong private equity practice continued to perform during 2006. In June the firm won instructions from clients Boston Ventures and Clarity Partners to advise on the US aspects of the £350m ($637m) management buyout of cinema operator Vue Entertainment.
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