Legal News

K&L Gates Hits $1B; Chairman Kalis Beats His Chest

By Ashby Jones

Last year was not the best one for BigLaw. That much has been chronicled again and again, most recently in the WSJ by Nathan Koppel in today’s pages.

But until revenue figures start rolling in, we won’t know just how bad it was.

Or how good.

In a bit of surprising news, perhaps, word broke on Friday of yet another member to the billion-club: K&L Gates. The firm’s revenues were up about 7.8 percent over its 2008 revenues, as measured by the American Lawyer. It’s was an impressive showing for the firm, which gained behemoth status about two years ago when Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, which traced its roots to Pittsburgh, merged with Seattle’s Preston Gates & Ellis. Click here for the story, from the Lawyer; here for the story from the American Lawyer.

Firm global chairman Peter Kalis (pictured)(who was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal and a Rhodes Scholar back in the day) wasn’t above a little chest beating. Actually, it was more of a challenge to his colleagues at other firms:

Of the top 50 firms in the world, I think relatively few will have shown growth in revenues and profits in 2008 and 2009 like we have.

Is this smack talk from a law-firm chairman? It sure sounds like it and, frankly, we love it. Only 13 firms topped $1 billion in revenues for 2008, according to AmLaw. It’ll be interesting to see if the same baker’s dozen (plus K&L Gates) hang in there or if the number dwindles a bit.

Stay tuned.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on January 15, 2010 (boomark / email).