Covington & Burling’s London revenue climbed 9 per cent in 2016 to just short of $70m.
The firm’s City turnover climbed from $63.6m to $69.5m after a slight dip in revenue over 2015.
The increase in London helped the firm achieve 13 per cent growth worldwide, with revenue climbing from $742.5m to $838.5m.
Average profit per equity partner (PEP) jumped 16 per cent to $1.5m. The firm added 45 lawyers over 2016 taking headcount to 838.
Covington chair Tim Hester said: “I think the results are a reflection of the multi-year investments that we’ve been making. This has translated into very good results for the firm.”
Covington embarked on its four-year strategy in 2016, which included a push to bulk up in London. The firm added several new partners to its litigation team last year – hiring King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) litigation head Craig Pollack and partner Louise Freeman.
The move followed the recruitment of KWM colleagues Greg Lascelles and Elaine Whiteford.
“It’s been part of our strategy to build that practice,” said London partner Louise Nash.
“The opportunity was a phenomenal one for us, giving us a full range of litigation, white-collar and antitrust expertise.”
Other hires in London include former BG general counsel Graham Vinter, described by Nash as “the godfather of project finance”.
Last October, Covington promoted its first London lawyer to partnership since 2014. Life sciences lawyer Brian Kelly was the firm’s sole City promotion, with Covington last making up Robin Blaney in the same team in 2014.
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