Cravath Partner Profits Drop by Almost a Fourth

Partner profits at Cravath, Swaine & Moore plummeted 24 percent in 2008, dropping to $2.5 million per partner.

The American Lawyer reported the figure and said the drop is one of the steepest so far reported by a top-100 law firm. Gross revenue fell 13 percent.

In 2007, Cravath's profits per partner were the second highest among the top 100 law firms, standing at $3.3 million.

The firm may be harder hit because most of its lawyers are concentrated in New York and had relied on bonus fees from mergers and acquisitions work to boost profit, the story says. The firm does not have a large bankruptcy practice to offset falling revenues in other areas.