In 2010, gross revenue at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr improved 8.6 percent to $53.3 million compared to $49.1 million in 2009. Net income at the Dallas-based firm rose 12.8 percent to $22 million in 2010, compared to $19.5 million in 2009. “The marked improvement in the firm’s financial performance and the continued growth of the firm in 2010 really demonstrates how well positioned we are in the Texas market,” says Glenn Callison, the firm’s chairman and chief executive officer. Callison says the firm, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010, was busy with business litigation and bankruptcy work, and transactional practices were “steady despite challenging market conditions.” Dallas shareholder Joe Wielebinski, head of Munsch Hardt’s reorganization/corporate finance section, says, “One of the most fast-paced, high-profile and fun assignments was the Texas Rangers case.” In 2010,Munsch Hardt represented New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez as the largest unsecured creditor and creditors’ committee member in the Texas Rangers Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and then was retained by Alex Jacobs, the bankruptcy plan administrator, Wielebinski says. Phil Appenzeller, a Dallas shareholder and head of the business litigation group, says adding a health-care subgroup to the business litigation group and collecting on a couple of contingent-fee matters added to his group’s 2010 success. Chip Cavanaugh, a Dallas shareholder and chairman of the real estate section, says, “2010 was a lot better and kind of improved steadily over the year.” He says in 2010 the firm saw the return of positive transactions whereas a lot of the work in 2009 was distressed. Munsch Hardt profits per partner averaged $611,000 in 2010, and revenue per lawyer averaged $503,000. PPP and RPL are calculated using a full-year average FTE (full-time equivalent) of 106 lawyers and 36 equity partners. Callison says “strong efforts on collections and continued focus on cost controls” led to improved realization.
See ” Turning the Corner: The Worst Appears to Be Over for Texas Firms“
