Middle East turmoil hits PEP at DLA Piper

DLA Piper yesterday blamed market turmoil in the Middle East for an 18 per cent fall in profits per equity partner.

The law firm, which has offices in Leeds and Sheffield, reported PEP of 527,000, down from 645,000 the previous year.

Turnover was 581m, down one per cent on 2008-09.

UK revenue decreased by 7 per cent to 284m, while revenue in Asia shot up by 21 per cent to 56.5m.

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Nigel Knowles, DLA Piper joint chief executive, said: "PEP suffered as a direct result of the market conditions in the Middle East which resulted in a substantial underperformance by our business in the region.

"We have restructured that business, the hit has been taken and we have made a strong start to the 2010-11 year."

He added: "Europe and Asia performed well overall, although the reduction in the volume of transactions affected our corporate, finance and projects and real estate groups."

Neil McLean, managing partner in Leeds, said: "In the UK, like most legal services firms, the London market has taken the hardest knock while regional offices have continued to perform well – indeed the Leeds office exceeded its budget target for this year."

DLA Piper, which has its roots in Yorkshire, said regional performance remained strong.