Despite the firm’s rarefied reputation, Arnold & Porter admits it has had some problems in recent years. “It has been a time of some transition in our firm as we moved from big litigation to a more diverse practice,” says chairman Thomas Milch.
The firm has lagged behind other big DC firms in terms of profits per partner. In 2000, Arnold & Porter was slightly ahead of the pack at $670,000 (£335,000), but in the past six years it has been surpassed in profitability by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Hogan & Hartson and Covington. And the firm’s head count has declined by 100 attorneys since 2003, to 554.
