It was a rough year financially for Howrey in 2009. The firm’s gross revenue declined to $480 million last year, a decrease of 16.3 percent from $573.2 million in 2008. Profits per partner also took a precipitous drop. PPP came in at $846,053 in 2009 as compared to $1.299 million in ’08, a drop of 34.9 percent. Revenue per lawyer fell 19.2 percent to $702,782.
Earlier this month, CEO Bob Ruyak announced in an email that there was not enough work available for all attorneys and staff and that layoffs would be forthcoming. Initial reports had the number of layoffs at 100, though it couldn’t be confirmed.
Howrey was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Its major areas of practice include antitrust law, intellectual property law and global litigation. The firm has over 700 attorneys and offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, London, Munich, Taipei and several other locations.