Paul Hastings' London office witnesses revenue hike

Paul Hastings' London office witnesses revenue hike

At the end of Seth Zachary's final full year as CEO, revenue at the Los Angeles firm climbed to $1.57 billion

The US law firm Paul Hastings has posted record financial results, growing global revenue by 20 percent in 2021 to $1.57 billion and achieving a 40.6 percent increase in fee income at its London office.

Los Angeles experienced a very similar increase in profit per equity partner (PEP): it jumped by 20.5 percent to reach $4.7m. The London office, which broke the $100m revenue barrier in 2019 and added $108.6m to revenue for 2020 with revenues reaching $152.7m, closed the year with their best financial year yet.

During 2021, revenue rose marginally by 3.2 percent to $1.31bn against a 14.2 percent increase in PEP, following a relatively modest performance in 2020. According to financial analysts, revenue per lawyer will grow 4 percent to $1.38m in 2020; that key metric grew 16.1 percent to $1.61m last year.

According to the firm, it observed growth in deal flow and demand for its services in all areas including private equity, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, structured credit, real estate finance, investigations and white collar crime and intellectual property in London, New York and Northern California.

Leading US firms have also announced their 2020 results, including Latham & Watkins, which saw its revenue increase by 27 percent to $5.49bn as it recorded a $1bn topline boost. Hogan Lovells saw revenue increase by 13 percent to $2.6 billion, White & Case saw revenue increase by 20 percent to $2.87 billion and Sidley Austin saw revenue increase by 13.5 percent to $2.795 billion.

As far as US firms that have reported results in the UK, Paul Hastings stands out, especially among those that delivered increases in London, although Cooley also achieved a 50 percent increase (see table below).

With more than 150 lawyers based in its London office, which specializes in funds, finance, M&A/PE and investigations and white collar defense, it grew its headcount by 16 percent. There were six new arrivals to the office in 2021. Joining the investigations and white collar defense group in January were Jonathan Pickworth and Joanna Dimmock, followed in May by newly-minted partner Rebecca Copcutt and three associates.

In last February, the firm also added Alex Leitch, the co-head of Covington & Burling's London dispute resolution group, to its complex litigation practice. Ted Craig joined the firm from Dentons in the fall, Max Kirchner of Proskauer Rose joined the securities and capital markets team and Adrian Chiodo joined the leverage financing team in December.

London Office Turnover 2021 - Selected Firms

Paul Hastings' first full financial year under chairman Seth Zachary also marks its last year as a standalone company. Since being elected in 2000, Zachary has served seven terms in the position. He is stepping down in October as part of a reorganization of the firm's leadership. Around the end of last year, the firm announced that he would be handed over to capital markets partner Frank Lopez, who currently heads the leveraged finance practice in New York.

In addition, Sherrese Smith, a media, technology and communications partner in Washington DC was announced as the firm's new managing partner, replacing Greg Nitzkowski and Ronan O'Sullivan. Meanwhile, Smith, who is also vice-chairman of the firm's data privacy and cybersecurity practice, serves as a co-managing partner along with Lopez until the two assume their new roles later this year.