Profit per equity partner hits £546,000 at legal giant Pinsent Masons

Pinsent Masons, the global legal firm that employs 500 staff in Scotland across a trio of offices, has seen its most senior lawyers pocket more than £540,000 after an increase in full-year revenues.

Katharine Hardie, chair of Scotland and Northern Ireland at Pinsent Masons, which has offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Picture: Ian Georgeson

The firm, which employs more than 3,000 people worldwide and merged with Scottish practice McGrigors in 2012, also outlined four benchmark metrics signalling a “step change” for the business following the launch of a new strategy last autumn.

Revenue in the financial year just past amounted to £495.9 million, an increase of 4 per cent on the previous 12-month period. Profit per equity partner (PEP) averaged £546,000. During the year, the firm hired a total of 26 partners, bringing the partner count in the business to more than 460 globally.

Managing partner John Cleland said: “Our refreshed strategy commits us to measure and communicate performance and progress by reference to metrics that reflect our purpose and measure our impact on our colleagues, clients and communities. This means measuring – and valuing – much more than just revenue and PEP.

“The pandemic has accelerated a cultural and behavioural shift across the business community. We run the risk of alienating clients and future recruits by judging success primarily by reference to turnover and equity pay.”

Katharine Hardie, chair of Scotland and Northern Ireland, added: “The year ahead will present challenges the like of which we have not seen before. Despite obvious headwinds brought about by Covid-19, we’re encouraged by the momentum we’ve found going into the new financial year.

“In Scotland, landmark deals in the past year led by our teams in Glasgow and Aberdeen have included Ithaca Energy’s acquisition of Chevron North Sea and the sale of football club Hibernian FC to US businessman Ron Gordon.

“We firmly believe that if we continue to do business in the right way and for the right reasons, our business will come through this year strong, united and better than before.”

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