Baker McKenzie has announced revenues for the fiscal year ended 30 June 2017 (FY17) of $2.67 billion. The firm put in a good performance but down on last year - revenue was up 2.1pc to $2.67bn (£2bn) compared with eight per cent the previous year. At the same time profit growth at the company was 0.2pc, compared with 14 per cent the year before. American turnover accounted for 37 per cent of revenue with Europe, the Middle East and Africa a further 37 per cent whilst Asia accounted for 26 per cent. Profits per partner were up by 1.2 per cent or 0.2 per cent in dollar terms at $1.3 million. The firm also estimates that its use of alternative legal services in Belfast, its e-discovery platforms and use of legal project management are already bringing in more than $20 million in annual revenue.
Growth not merger
Baker McKenzie chair Paul Rawlinson said of the figures: 'Despite the ongoing geo-political uncertainty, we have reported another record set of financials with growth in all of our regions. A five per cent revenue growth and one per cent increase in profit is a strong performance in difficult circumstances. It means that over the last decade, our firm has grown revenues by 50 per cent without a significant merger. Very few global law firms can match that.'
Initatives
The firm launched its innovation initiative in 2017 and partnered with the World Economic Forum on its fourth industrial revolution project, which aims to accelerate the deployment of technology and science for positive impact on individuals and the societies, while minimising their downside risks. It also opened a Toronto-based Whitespace Collab as a major hub for driving collaboration between the Firm and clients. It also became the first law firm to roll out machine learning technology on a global scale.
Growing practices
It also pointed out that growth areas in FY17 included tax, dispute resolution, banking & finance, M&A and capital markets. The technology, media and telecoms (TMT) group was the highest growth industry sector and it also launched new groups covering consumer goods and retail, and industrials, manufacturing and transportation.
Transactions
Work this year included: Advising Yum! Brands on the corporate implementation of the $9.7 billion global restructuring relating to the spin-off of its Chinese restaurant operations; Representing BHP Billiton on the development of a Forests Bond co-developed in conjunction with the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank. The Bond aims to achieve emission reductions through a combination of forest protection and community development activities in East Kenya; Victory for Dyson before the European Court of Justice in a case where the court ruled true-to-life testing, where technically possible, must be used to measure the energy performance of vacuum cleaners.
Other projects
• Advising digital technology company Konica Minolta on its acquisition of Ambry Genetics Corporation, a leading diagnostic solutions provider for hereditary conditions, for up to $1 billion.
• Securing a full concession from the IRS on behalf of Nike, ending a significant dispute over the treatment of foreign tax credits.
• Advising Siemens on a multi million dollar loan to Stoneway Capital Corporation, as part of a $500 million financing for a thermal power project in Buenos Aires – which included the first use of project bonds in Argentina in 25 years
• Working with Emerson Electric on its $4 billion carve-out and sale of its Network Power business to Platinum Equity, a complex carve-out involving over 60 countries and legal issues including corporate, tax, real estate, IT, employment, pensions and cash repatriation.
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