Some practice leaders are among partners leaving this BigLaw firm
The latest partners leaving K&L Gates amid declining gross revenues include some practice group leaders.
Bloomberg Big Law Business reported on the departures as the Legal Intelligencer (sub. req.) reported that gross revenue at K&L Gates dropped 7 percent last year and the overall lawyer head count declined by a net 100 lawyers. Above the Law noted the Bloomberg story.
The number of equity partners dropped from 252 in 2014 to 210 in 2015, a decline of 16.6 percent, according to the Legal Intelligencer. The number of nonequity partners dropped from 244 in 2014 to 229 last year, a decline of 6.1 percent.
Revenues fell from about $1.15 billion in 2014 to $1.06 billion in 2015. The firm told the Legal Intelligencer in a statement that profits per “fully participating” equity partners rose 5.3 percent from about $830,000 to more than $873,000. Also, the firm announced last month that it was had named 50 lawyers across four continents to the partnership.
The latest departures include five partners jumping to Mayer Brown’s financial services, regulatory and enforcement group in Washington, D.C., Bloomberg reports. The partners include two leaders of K&L Gates’ financial services practice group, according to Above the Law.
Four partners going to Morgan Lewis & Bockius’ intellectual property group in Chicago include a global co-practice leader of K&L Gates’ intellectual property group, according to Bloomberg and Above the Law. In addition, a trademark partner is joining Venable.
Some of the departing lawyers told Bloomberg their moves were not related, though they occurred at about the same time.
According to Above the Law, “Hand-wringing over partners leaving the firm has been going on for years—since at least 2012, by our count—and the firm keeps on trucking. So some might dismiss this as a non-story, perhaps fueled by disgruntled ex-lawyers. But maybe this time is different?”
K&L Gates chairman Peter Kalis did not respond when contacted by Bloomberg and Above the Law. Above the Law, however, would not be surprised “to see a feisty firm-wide memo from Kalis” over the next few weeks.
In 2012, after a report that K&L Gates was losing partners at “an alarming rate,” Kalis told Above the Law that the firm was financially stable and it refused to engage in a “Deweyesque charade.”
Last summer, Kalis told Bloomberg Big Law Business that the firm was stronger than ever, and departures were due to “rational” performance evaluations that can lead to high turnover among nonequity partners.
Typo in sixth paragraph corrected on March 14.
