It was a dramatic year for Denton Wilde Sapte (DWS) and one defined by the axing of its Asian operations, large-scale defections and poor financial results.

In April 2004, former chief executive Virginia Glastonbury bit the bullet and chopped the firm's unprofitable Asian operations, which included Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.

The firm suffered a wave of departures, with no fewer than 27 partners leaving. Most notable was the 11-partner media and IP gang that quit for DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary. But there was also a fivepartner contentious insurance group that left for Chadbourne & Parke, property star Martin Quicke went to Clyde & Co, and asset finance star Lisa Marks joined Berwin Leighton Paisner.

October saw the firm rejig its partner capitalisation, raising capital contributions by around 25 per cent to bring it in line with its competitors.

The firm was also hit with a number of one-off expenses, including the £8m cost of closing Asia and the cost of maintaining premises in Chancery Lane, both of which have impacted on the bottom line. Amid the bad news were some glimmers of positivity.

Every office at the firm is now profitable and there will be no further costs associated with the Asia closure. Also, a number of parties are understood to be interested in acquiring the firm's desirable Chancery Lane premises, which is estimated to cost each partner £30,000 a year.

Workwise the firm continues to operate a sector- based strategy focused on four areas: energy, transport and infrastructure; financial institutions; real estate and retail; and technology, media and telecoms. Despite the media and IP losses, it retains a strong pedigree in IT outsourcing and advised on a £4bn IT outsourcing contract for the Ministry of Defence.

DWS operates a complex modified lockstep, with 45 points allocated to a first-year equity partner, increasing in five-point increments to a 90-point plateau. Around a quarter of profit is allocated on a merit basis. The system runs on eight bands, with the majority of partners sitting in the second band of merit allocation. Internally, the firm reported PEP of £303,000, although this figure did not include the cost of closing Asia, estimated at £25,000 per partner.