Recruiting in China

Baker & McKenzie, the world's largest law firm, has announced a 20 percent increase in its revenue this year.

The Chicago-based firm is set to announce today that it grossed $1.83 billion in its 2007 fiscal year, which ended June 30. That compared with $1.52 billion in 2006.

The firm will also report that, for the first time, its profits per partner were over the $1 million mark. The firm said it had profits per partner in 2007 of $1.06 million, up 22 percent from the year before.

Chairman John Conroy said Wednesday that he was pleased with the results, which he attributed to a strategic plan the firm adopted three years ago.

Since then, the firm has whittled its practices down to 11 core groups and has focused on deepening its relationships with the types of large multinational clients who can best utilize Baker & McKenzie's global network. The firm has 3,600 lawyers in 70 offices in 38 countries.

Conroy said the firm was focusing particularly on four key markets: New York, London, China and Japan. "We want to leverage the international positions we've had into these prioritized markets," he said.

He noted that Baker & McKenzie was the largest foreign law firm in China, including Hong Kong, with a total of 240 lawyers.

For such a large firm, Baker & McKenzie has long had a notably modest presence in New York. The firm made a major push into the market in 2005 when it hired most of the New York office of Coudert Brothers. Conroy said the firm had continued to expand through lateral hiring.

"We always knew if we had more critical mass in New York, we could take it to another level," he said. "This is the year we kicked it into gear."

Baker & McKenzie's results come in the wake of earnings announcements by the firms of London's Magic Circle, which it most resembles in terms of size and geographic sprawl. But those firms, with their strong London-based corporate practices, have generally been more profitable. This year was no exception, with firms like Linklaters and Clifford Chance mostly surpassing $2 billion in revenue and $2 million in profits per partner.