Pillsbury profits rise 10 per cent as revenues remain static
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has posted a 10 per cent increase in average profit per equity partner (PEP) for the 2010 financial year off the back of flat revenue growth.
Jim Rishwain
The US firm, which is among the first to unveil its results so far this year, posted a PEP of $1.045m, up from $950,000 in 2009. This is the first time Pillsbury’s PEP has broken through the million dollar mark.
Total revenue effectively stayed flat at $532m compared with $533m in 2009, while revenue per lawyer was also up, by 6 per cent from $805,000 in 2009 to $855,000 last year.
Firm chairman Jim Rishwain said that while the economy has begun to show some signs of recovery he feels it remains sluggish and uneven.
“[Pillsbury’s] 2010 results reflect the challenges the legal industry continues to face, including lower levels of client demand and increased billing rate pressures,” added Rishwain.
“Pillsbury responded by realigning our cost structure, making strategic acquisitions of key partners and practices, and investing more heavily in client service development to ensure we’re aligned with our clients’ business and objectives.”
Rishwain said that as a result of these measures the firm’s 2010 results showed “stable revenue in an unstable economy coupled with strong profit growth and a healthy balance sheet”.
