Top 10 US firm Weil Gotshal & Manges is set to break the $1bn (�521m) fees barrier this year as the New York leader unveils double-digit growth in revenue and partner profits for 2004. The results, which underline the increasing gap in partner profits between top US firms and their London rivals, see Weil Gotshal�s 2004 fee income hit $908m (�473m), compared with 2003�s figure of $801m (�417m). The firm�s average profits per partner were up by 13% to $1.7m (�885,000), against 2003�s figure of $1.5m (�781,121).
The results maintain Weil Gotshal�s record of posting annual double-digit growth following sustained US and international expansion that last year included office launches in Munich and Shanghai. The 1,200-lawyer firm is also regarded as having been insulated from the corporate slump of 2001-02 by its market-leading US bankruptcy practice.
Details here from the UK's Legal Week.