US firm Debevoise & Plimpton saw revenues rise by 7 per cent revenue during the 2008 calendar year, up from $709.5m at the end of 2007 to $760.8m.

Average profits per equity partner (PEP) dipped slightly, from $2.28m to $2.22.

This is a marked difference to last year, when Debevoise reported a standout performance. At the end of the 2007 financial year the firm announced revenue and PEP rises of 23 per cent and 27 per cent respectively. Revenue grew to $709.5m from $575m while PEP increased to $2.289m from $1.805m at the end of 2006.

Debevoise’s revenue figure places the firm just outside the US top 30 of firms ranked by turnover, coming in behind Bingham McCutcheon and Davis Polk and Wardwell, which both posted revenues of $767m for 2008.

As reported in The Lawyer today, Baker & McKenzie is only $10m away from becoming the largest US law firm by revenue and snatching the title held by elite firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (2 March).

That said, as our story points out, Bakers has a June year end while most of the other firms in the table report on a calendar year basis. It could lose its second-place position when it reports in June.