Frost Brown Todd's Revenues and Profits Slip in FY2018
The firm saw declines in profits per equity partner as the number of equity partners remained flat and its overall head count rose 3.5 percent.
February 27, 2019 at 05:16 PM
3 minute read
Robert Sartin, with Frost Brown
Mid-market law firm Frost Brown Todd has reported a drop in revenue and profits in FY2018 compared to the year before.
Gross revenue declined 1.4 percent, from $223.6 million in FY2017 to $220.4 million in FY2018. Revenue per lawyer fell 3.4 percent, from $503,000 to $486,000 over the same period, while profits per equity partner dropped from $501,000, to $453,000—a decline of 9.6 percent.
The number of equity partners remained the same at 159, but the number of nonequity partners increased from 141 to 146. And the total number of lawyers at the firm rose from 445 to 453—a 3.5 percent jump.
Robert Sartin, the firm's chair, said the profit decline stemmed partly from the need to make certain internal investments at the firm and he sees it as a temporary drop. The on-boarding of new members and associates is a lengthy process, he said.
“It takes somebody a good 30-45 days to get onto the platform, get files cleared, and start working. The revenue replacement doesn't show up until after they're on-boarded,” Sartin said.
The firm also made further investments over the past year.
“We took some of our profits and put them into testing various types of AI and other things we're going to need to be more competitive in the marketplace,” Sartin said.
In addition, the firm took on a number of transactions in 2018 that didn't close by the end of the fiscal year, Sartin said, so the profits from those deals are not reflected in the reported totals, even though they are significant and profitable engagements for the firm.
One of the law firm's mainstays, its commercial litigation practice, did not underperform in 2018, Sartin said. Rather, a number of cases that could have gone to trial instead settled out of court.
“On the transactional side, the financial services, syndicated lending, commercial banking, and CMBS practices of our law firm performed very well,” Sartin said.
Looking to the future, Frost Brown's leadership has also been in planning mode, Sartin said.
“We have been working on a strategic plan that charts the course of the next five to ten years for the law firm. To develop a plan takes some billable hours off the table, and those become internal investment hours,” Sartin stated.
That strategic planning has not included merger talks, but Sartin said the firm will evaluate all opportunities.
“As a part of our strategic plan, we'll evaluate all opportunities to grow, to make us a better law firm. If that might lead to a combination, then, like any business, of course we'll take a look at it,” Sartin said. “We're not looking to expand geographically for its own sake, but we will probably enter new markets so that we can better serve our clients.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Saul Ewing Loses Two Partners to Fox Rothschild, Marking Four Fla. Partner Exits in Last 13 Months
3 minute read
Dentons Taps D.C. Capital Markets Attorney for New US Managing Partner

Exceptional Growth Becoming the Rule? Demand Drove Strong Year for Big Law

Eagles or Chiefs? At These Law Firms, Super Bowl Sunday Gets Complicated
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1With DEI Top of Mind, Black Judges Discuss Growing Up During Segregation, Efforts to Diversify the Profession
- 2Big Law's Middle East Bet: Will It Pay Off?
- 3'Translate Across Disciplines': Paul Hastings’ New Tech Transactions Leader
- 4Milbank’s Revenue and Profits Surge Following Demand Increases Across the Board
- 5Fourth Quarter Growth in Demand and Worked Rates Coincided with Countercyclical Dip, New Report Indicates
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250