Legal News

The Mighty Have Slipped: Cravath?s 2008 Profits Down Sharply

By Ashby Jones

This news confirms it: No law firm, it seems, is immune from the economic downturn. American Lawyer has the goods on Cravath, Swaine & Moore’s 2008 revenue numbers, and they ain’t pretty.

According to AmLaw, Cravath — arguably the most gilded law-firm name in the country — saw its 2008 gross revenue fall 13 percent, while profits per partner tumbled 24 percent.

Last year’s revenue was $532.5 million, compared to $610 million in 2007. Last year’s profits-per-partner were $2.5 million, compared to $3.3 million in 2007, a figure that was second only to that posted by New York’s Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

The firm, managed by Evan Chesler (pictured), declined to comment to AmLaw.

In other elite-firms-wrestling-with-the-recession news, the NLJ has an article today on New York’s Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, which is sending some of its associates to year-long stints at nonprofit organizations. The news was first reported by Above the Law.

The firm is offering fellowships to 15 associates with one to three years of experience and paying them $60,000 up front. They will not remain employees of the firm while they work for the nonprofit, although they can keep their insurance benefits.

According to the NLJ, associates can choose which nonprofit organization to work for, and the program is available to associates at all of the law firm’s offices.

Joel Henning, a consultant with Hildebrandt International, is a big fan of the move. “Rather than terminating people whom they like, they get to keep them,” he said. “Those people are going to have a positive feeling about the firm.”

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on February 20, 2009 (boomark / email).