Morgan Lewis reported sharp drops in revenue and per partner profits for the 2009 fiscal year. Revenues fell by 5%, from $1.12 to $1.07 billion and per partner profits fell by 15%.
Although 2007 was a rough year for most firms, the numbers for Morgan Lewis may look worse than they actually are. The firm ends its fiscal year on September 30, so the numbers for 2009 cover the very worst of the recession and don’t include 4th quarter 2009 when the economy started recovering. Per partner profits took such a large hit because although the total number of lawyers at Morgan Lewis declined by about 6% due to deferrals and layoffs, the number of partners rose by 5%. Morgan Lewis had a strong year for lateral hires, bringing in 55 new partners.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP was founded as Morgan & Lewis in 1873. It has 1,400 lawyers in 22 offices worldwide.