Mayer Brown pleased with 9 per cent growth

Mayer Brown pleased with 9 per cent growth" />The stellar growth experienced by Mayer Brown in 2006 fell back slightly over the past calendar year although the firm still managed to post revenue and profit increases of 9 per cent.

Over the 2007 financial year the firm posted global revenues of $1.183bn (£600m), up from $1.084bn (£550m) the previous year. Average profit per equity partner (PEP) for 2007 was $1.239m (£630,000), up 9 per cent from $1.135m (£580,000) in 2006.

The firm's global vice chairman Paul Maher said on a global scale the litigation, finance and corporate practice were the biggest beneficiaries of the growth. He added that in the UK the litigation practice did not grow at all, with finance, corporate, real estate and pensions being the biggest contributors to revenue growth.

Compared to its own history Mayer Brown's 2007 growth was muted - in 2006 its revenues rose by 11 per cent while PEP grew by 19 per cent.

However, Maher pointed out that, given the economic climate of the latter half of 2007, the firm remains pleased with the overall figures.

"We have got the same economic situation as everyone else with the credit crunch and sub prime worries, so we are very pleased," he said. "We also went through a restructuring and that had some impact."

Although the firm positions itself as a transatlantic rather than US player, its latest figures are also some way behind those announced by leading US firms. As reported in The Lawyer (11 February) Latham & Watkins and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom have become the first US firms to break the $2bn (£1.03bn) revenue barrier.

That said, Skadden's rate of growth was equal to Mayer Brown's with the US giant also posting revenue and PEP rises of 9 per cent.