The market was hardly booming but a close eye on costs meant most Am Law 100 law firms were able to improve profitability in 2010. Robin Sparkman reports

After watching partner profits sink in 2008 (down 4.3%) and crawl back into positive territory in 2009 (a mere 0.3% increase), The Am Law 100 collectively exhaled last year as profits per equity partner (PEP) jumped a healthy 8.4%.