Richard Lloyd legalweek
Sidley Austin’s revenues fell by almost 9% in 2009 to $1.49bn (£957m), reports The Am Law Daily.
However, a decline in equity partner numbers, from 332 in 2008 to 304, boosted profits per equity partner (PEP) by just over 2% to $1.46m (£938,000).
Overall lawyer headcount also dropped to 1,588 from 1,702, a reflection of the cuts Sidley announced last March when it laid off 89 associates and staff attorneys and 140 staff members.
Commenting on the firm’s performance, Charles Douglas, the chairman of the firm’s management committee, said: “We did pretty well given the economy. This is a very difficult period for law firms, more so than at any other time in the last 25 to 30 years, and we did better than we expected at the start of the year.”
Over the course of the year the firm opened one new office in Silicon Valley with the hire of corporate specialist Tom DeFilipps from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. “We found the right combination of people which gave us a core that we could bring together,” said Douglas.
Among the firm’s practice areas, Douglas pointed to bankruptcy and restructuring as one that was busy throughout the year. There was strong activity from the firm’s pharmaceutical clients, he added, and the banking, securitisation and capital markets groups remained active despite tough market conditions.
The Am Law Daily is the website of The American Lawyer, Legal Week’s US sister title.
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