Revenue sneaks up at WilmerHale

WilmerHale has reported a 5 per cent increase in total revenue for the 2007 financial year, with turnover up from $897m to $944m.

Wilmer's average profit per equity partner rose by 8.6 per cent, taking PEP above the $1m mark to $1.06m.

Wilmer co-managing partner Bill Perlstein said the firm had had a solid year both in its growth nationally and internationally and in the performance of its core practice groups.

While admitting the previous 12 months had been challenging in terms of corporate work, Perlstein pointed to 13 IPOs and 24 other significant capital markets transactions during 2007 as evidence of the firm's solid year.

"Our corporate lawyers also completed more than 250 venture capital financings, nearly 100 M&A deals and hundreds of technology, licensing and similar agreements," Perlstein added.

In a statement, Wilmer flagged up a roster of more than 125 public company clients in the US and Europe and highlighted more than 25 of its 2007 M&A transactions as being valued in excess of $100m.

Deal highlights included Kronos' $1.8bn acquisition by Hellman & Friedman, and EqualLogic's pending acquisition by Dell for $1.4bn, the largest cash purchase price ever paid for a private venture capital-backed company.

Elsewhere, Wilmer IP litigators secured several major licensing-related wins for Broadcom against Qualcomm, while its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act group handled several prominent enforcement matters involving the Department of Justice and SEC.