Olswang ally Greenberg busts budget by £20m

Greenberg Traurig has posted a 15 per cent increase in gross revenue for 2007, with turnover at the US national firm rising from $1.04bn (£519m) to $1.2bn (£599m).

Average profit per equity partner (PEP) at the expansionist firm rose by just under 9 per cent, hitting $1.3m (£650,000) from $1.2m (£600,000) in 2006. Total compensation for Greenberg's 288 full equity partners rose 14.6 per cent to $374.9m (£187.4m) while compensation to the 476 non-equity partners rose 24 per cent, to $205.5m (£102.7m).

Greenberg chief executive Cesar Alvarez said it had been "a good year", with the firm ending 2007 almost $20m (£10m) above budget.

"It started out as a good year but the second six months were tougher for most firms in the market," said Alvarez. "For us, it was consistent throughout the year."

Alvarez added this was primarily because the firm had been steadily ramping up in counter-cyclical areas such as bankruptcy and litigation, areas which were now becoming increasingly busy.

He added that the firm's corporate group had also enjoyed a strong year, with the standout deal being its representation of Freedom Acquisition on its $3.4bn (£1.7bn) purchase of UK-based alternative asset manager GLG Partners. Greenberg worked with its alliance partner, Olswang, on the deal.

Alvarez said his firm continued to be "very happy" in its relationship with Olswang, highlighting a London networking event last week with the firm that featured a group of around 25 Greenberg lawyers.

"That is ultimately the way you build business," Alvarez added. "You tend to refer work to people you know and feel comfortable with, so they spend time together talking about work but also things outside work like our families and kids. When you're comfortable with people as human beings you're more comfortable with working with them."

Greenberg also continued to grow its national and international network during 2007 and into 2008, the most recent being its Shanghai office, which opened last month.