Akerman Senterfitt has reported a dramatic 30 percent drop in its non-equity shareholders, capping off a difficult year marked by rapid turnover, the embarrassing collapse of a merger and the revelation that it missed its budget.

Non-equity shareholders also suffered a 15 percent drop in pay, according to financial information for the 2008 fiscal year released by Akerman for the annual ranking of top law firms by The American Lawyer magazine, an affiliate of the Daily Business Review.