Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr has posted an average profit per equity partner (PEP) of $870,000 (£463,100) in its first full financial year as a merged firm. The results compare favourably with the average PEP of $780,000 (£415,200) at the pre-merger Wilmer Cutler and $810,000 (£431,200) at Hale and Dorr. Turnover for 2004 was $750m (£399.2m), up an impressive 14 per cent on a combined total for Wilmer Cutler & Pickering ($334m (£177.8m)) and Hale & Dorr ($325m (£173m)) in 2003. The results should see the merged firm leap into the top 15 US firms ranked by total revenues.

First revealed on www.thelawyer.com 4 April