| Turnover: | £226.9m |
| Profit per equity partner: | £470,000 |
| Revenue per lawyer: | £387,000 |
| Total number of lawyers: | 585 |
It has been 12 months of wrenching change for Simmons & Simmons, but the firm has come out of its makeover looking pretty good. The firm leapt seven places up the table on last year with a total revenue of £226.9m ($413m).
Since managing partner Mark Dawkins took up the reins in October 2005, there has been a root-and-branch review of the firm with the aims of slashing costs and moving away from the traditional law-firm model. This included a policy review to encourage cross-border work across the 20-office firm.
Partners have been de-equitised and 150 lawyers have left the firm. However, Simmons made up 15 associates during the past financial year and between May 2005 to May 2006 made 15 lateral partner hires. In both cases, banking and corporate were the practice areas to benefit most.
The lawyers that remain at Simmons are a hard-working bunch: Simmons had one of the highest increases last year in revenue per lawyer in the UK, posting £388,000 ($706,000).
In Asia, Simmons has offices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong, where it has 19 partners. It made it into China early - its Shanghai office was founded in 1995 - and counts HSBC, DBS Capital and New World China Land as clients.
Standout deals over the year include advising Hong Kong's largest telco, PCCW, on its $1.01bn (£554m) sale of a 20 per cent stake to China Network Communications Group.
But the last couple of months of 2006 will be anxious times for Simmons' Hong Kong and Shanghai offices. In September, five partners defected to Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, including China regional managing partner Huen Wong and head of the China corporate group Stephen Mok.
Although Simmons named finance partner Paul Li as the new regional
managing partner and took three associates on in its Hong Kong and
Shanghai offices, it had yet to replace the five partners who left at the time of going to press.
Although Simmons named finance partner Paul Li as the new regional
managing partner and took three associates on in its Hong Kong and
Shanghai offices, it had yet to replace the five partners who left at the time of going to press.
| 
