David Morley has a tricky path to navigate. Despite a 20% rise in average partner profits at Allen & Overy (A&O), which took average drawings this year to £788,000, A&O finds itself trailing behind its magic circle rivals after five years of indifferent performance and lacklustre growth.
Arguably of more concern are indications that A&O’s corporate practice is struggling to keep up with firms with greater cross-border muscle at a time when big-ticket M&A is back in Europe. After all, profit and turnover can improve dramatically within a short time but it takes years to upgrade a major transactional practice.
