Press Release

The National Law Journal’s Washington Report: Revenues Tick Up, Out-of-Town Firm Lawyer Count Jumps, Akin Again Leads Lobbyists

The National Law Journal’s Washington Report: Revenues Tick Up, Out-of-Town Firm Lawyer Count Jumps, Akin Again Leads Lobbyists

NEW YORK – July 28, 2014 – The annual surveys of Washington’s legal services and lobbying industries by ALM’s The National Law Journal finds slight growth in overall top firm revenues and some sharp increases in lawyer counts, largely among non-Washington-based firms. On the lobbying side, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has reclaimed its former position as market leader. The report is published in today’s issue and online at www.nationallawjournal.com.

Combined revenues of the DC 25 – the DC metro area’s top-earning law firms – grew $75 million in 2013, a 1 percent increase over the prior year. The very largest firms were about flat at best. Hogan Lovells’ Washington office led the pack at $420 million, about the same revenue as last year, followed by Arnold & Porter at $409 million, a 6 percent decline. Morrison & Foerster, with two offices in the area, burst onto the list with a 32 percent jump in revenue, pushing Dickstein Shapiro out of the DC25.

The total number of lawyers at the top 100 D.C. region offices declined by about 1 percent, though several firms bucked the trend. Gibson Dunn, founded in Los Angeles, added 24 lawyers last year, a 13 percent increase. Another Los Angeles-founded firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, nearly doubled its D.C. count to 57. Among the top 25 offices, 18 were roughly flat in 2013 head counts, including leaders Covington & Burling and Hogan Lovells, both staying around the 440-lawyer level.

The National Law Journal also reported on firms with the greatest lobbying revenues – the Influence 50. Akin was back on top after a one-year hiatus with $103.7 million, edging out Patton Boggs’ $97.2 million. The survey includes revenues publicly reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act and Foreign Agents Registration Act, state and local lobbying by firms’ Washington-area offices, and related work such as representations before federal agencies and grassroots organizing.

 

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