Reed Smith Partners Hit $1M Profit Mark Despite Revenue Dip

Another BigLaw firm has reported increased partner profits last year even though its income decreased.

Reed Smith says profit per equity partner in 2009 hit the $1 million mark, reports the Am Law Daily. But the firm fell a bit short of the $1 billion mark in its overall revenue, which dropped 3.8 percent to $942 million.

"It was a really tough year,” managing partner Gregory Jordan tells the Am Law Daily. “Demand was way down, and we had to make a lot of tough decisions."

As partner profits rose, compensation for at least some nonequity attorneys at the firm fell. Reed Smith also trimmed its nonequity partner ranks, cutting attorneys by 6 percent and staff by 4 percent while increasing the partner ranks 4 percent.

Partner profits at Reed Smith also hit the $1 million mark in 2007, reports the Legal Intelligencer in a January 2008 article. The firm had $892 million in revenue in 2007.

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "Reed Smith Will Ask Nonequity Partners to Pony Up Possibly 15% of Pay"