For the second straight year, Jenner & Block managed to do more with less. Between 2007 and 2008, Jenner made modest gains in profits and revenue with fewer lawyers. Last year, it did even better. While headcount at the Chicago-based firm dropped 1.5 percent, gross revenue increased nearly 6 percent to $367 million and profits per partner skyrocketed 33 percent to $1.1 million, both record highs for the firm. Jenner also saw an increase of nearly 8 percent in revenue per lawyer at $855,000.
The increases, says Susan Levy, Jenner’s managing partner, are attributable to strong countercyclical practices and a reduction in expenses. As part of its cost-cutting efforts, the firm eliminated 34 support staff positions in its Chicago and Washington, D.C., offices last March, according to The National Law Journal, a sibling publication.
