Ince & Co saw its revenue fall by 8% in 2014/15 - taking it down to £79.4m. Revenue at Kennedys went up just 1%. 

China

But the overall revenue figures mask far more varied results in different offices and areas. At Ince, six of the eleven offices outside the UK showed growth, particularly those in China and the Middle East. And, despite the revenue fall, profits went up 13%. 

Counter-cyclical

Jan Heuvels, Ince senior partner, said: ‘We are counter-cyclical to many other top international firms, as traditionally a large portion of our work comes from major international disputes in our core sectors. Many of these disputes came to an end during the course of the last financial year [2014/15], along with a reduced appetite for litigation generally in our sectors.’ 

Moscow

Kennedys has been expanding - launching in Moscow, for instance, and entering into a joint venture in Singapore. It also launched itself in Scotland at the start of this year when it opened offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow. 

Dubai

At DWF, revenue rose 1%. It opened its first foreign office - in Dubai - in 2014/15 and hired 24 new partners. CEO Andrew Leaitherland said: ‘Our financial performance last year reflects the significant strategic investments needed to align our operating model with our strategy as set out in our strategic vision. Our focus has very much been on integration of our people as well as consolidation following our mergers and acquisitions and our resource base is now set at an appropriate level to allow us to deliver our targeted revenue grow this year.’ 

Source: Legal Business and Legal Business