U.S.-based law firms posted soaring profits in 2020, double the rate of revenue growth in many cases, while the nonequity partner ranks greatly expanded in the top tier firms, according to an early analysis of nearly half the names from last year’s Am Law 200 rankings.

In both the top and bottom half of the 2020 Am Law 100, as well as last year’s Second Hundred, increases in profits per equity partner outpaced revenue growth, according to the ALM sample of 92 firms’ early financial and head count information. Part of that trend can be attributed to forced cost savings from pandemic-related business disruptions.