LG puts 35 per cent PEP hit down to trading conditions
LG has posted a 35 per cent drop in profit per equity partner (PEP) for the 2008-09 financial year, with equity partners taking home an average of £281,000 - down from £430,000 the previous year.
Those at the top end of the equity will take home £510,000, equating to a decrease of £140,000, while partners on the bottom rung will take home £170,000 -£45,000 less.
This comes as the firm has posted an 11 per cent drop in turnover, from £67.5m in 2007-08 to £60.3m this year.
Managing partner Hugh Maule said: “In the circumstances I’m not sure we could have expected a hell of a lot more. We’ve had an upturn in the last few months, but trading is fragile and I don’t know whether it will continue to be good.”
Costs absorbed during 2008-09 included a Russian launch through a merger with local firm Aurora and two rounds of redundancies. Some 47 members of staff lost their jobs at LG, including 15 lawyers.
The practice spread has remained largely consistent with the previous year, with corporate still the largest practice area, although it brought in 31 per cent of turnover as opposed to 38 per cent the previous year. Litigation grew both proportionately as a total share of turnover and very slightly in absolute terms.
