Billing at top 20 lberian law firms climbs 6% to €1.33bn

Billing at top 20 lberian law firms climbs 6% to €1.33bn

Smaller firms follow the major players in reporting revenue increases partly due to rise in compliance and data protection work as well as innovative pricing and greater use of project managers.

The overwhelming majority of Iberia's largest firms increased their revenue in the last 12 months as new data collated by Iberian Lawyer shows that the combined billing of Spain and Portugal' s 20 largest firms grew 6 per cent to €1.33 billion. While the heavyweight firms - such as Garrigues, Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira and Uría Menéndez- attributed growth to major Iberian M&A deals, along with expansion in Latin American markets when announcing their results earlier this year, smaller players attribute their growth to increased client demand in the areas of corporate compliance, data protection, cybersecurity and employment. In addition, firms are also attributing revenue growth to improved approaches to pricing, the input of project managers, as well as new techniques to manage workflow as well as automate a greater amount of commoditised work.

Aside from financial sector class action specialist Arriaga Associados - which experienced a three-fold increase in revenue - other notable performances in 2015 included Rousaud Costas Duran, which reported a 24 per cent increase in revenue and Ontier, which recorded a 20 per cent increase in billing in 2015. Ontier is now the fifth-largest Iberian law firm by revenue -last year it was placed sixth. 

Portugal revenues up

Leading Portuguese law firms PLMJ and MLGTS both recorded healthy increases in revenue. PLMJ's billing jumped 9 per cent to €39.2 million, while MLGTS' revenue climbed 13 per cent to €45 million, according to The Lawyer European 100. However, there was no growth at Vieira de Almeida, where revenue remained fl.at at €36.4 million. In 2015, the firm announced the addition of a team of six partners from rival Lisbon firm Miranda. Meanwhile, Lisbon-based Abreu Advogados reported a 9 per cent increase in revenue, which stood at €24 million in 2015. 

Other Spanish law firms to record significant increases in revenue last year included Lener, which saw its billing increase 14 per cent to €18.5 million and CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo, which posted revenues of €24.1 million, up 13 per cent on the previous year.