Dickstein Shapiro’s gross revenues held steady during 2011, with the firm generating $267 million, a 0.8% increase from 2010, according to our reporting.
But profits per partner fell by 9% to $915,000, and net income sank by 21.7%, to $50.5 million, a $14 million drop from 2010.
“It’s no great surprise here, 2011 was not as good as 2010,” said Dickstein chairman Michael Nannes.
Nannes said the lower firm income was due to several matters that have yet to be resolved, in which the firm is using alternative fee arrangements. He also said the firm has been reinvesting dollars back into the firm. Nannes pointed to the firm’s Silicon Valley, Calif. office, which opened in March, bolstered by the addition of six intellectual property laterals. And in August, the firm relocated its Stamford, Conn. office. He said the firm was able to accomplish this without taking on any debt.
“We continued to invest prudently, actively but fiscally conservatively,” Nannes said.
The firm has been focused on growing its IP, midmarket private equity, insurance coverage and government practices. The government practices include government contracts, public policy and state attorney general groups.
“We’re not focusing on the ten-digit transactions, but midmarket private equity where we can be a bit smaller and flexible with fee arrangements for clients,” Nannes said.
The total number of lawyer and partners both increased, to 343 and 156, respectively. The number of partners edged up by 5.4%.
The firm also scored big wins for its clients, including a patent verdict for Bruce Saffran, a doctor who invented certain heart stents that are used after angioplasties. Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $482 million to Saffran for royalties from the sales of the company’s stents.
Dickstein also represented software developer Novell in the company’s antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. Novell, the makers of WordPerfect, claimed that Microsoft dropped support of the software in favor of its own Microsoft Word. The $1.2 billion lawsuit ended in a mistrial after one of the jurors said he could not agree that Microsoft had damaged Novell.
“I believe quite confidently that some of the investments in contingent cases and new offices have us in a very good position for 2012,” Nannes said.
This report is part of The National Law Journal's ongoing web coverage of 2011 financial results of Am Law 200 firms in the Washington area. Full survey results will be published in The American Lawyer's May and June issues.
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