DUNDAS & Wilson has underlined the difficult conditions in the legal market with a further slide in turnover and profits.
The firm, traditionally one of the largest in Scotland and which also operates a London office, said it had been a transitional periodwith joint managing partners Caryn Penley and Allan Wernham only taking over from Donald Shaw in summer last year.
Annual accounts for the 12 months to the end of April this year will show turnover down almost 11% from £54.5 million to £48.7m.
Pre-tax profit dipped from £16.2m to £12.8m, leading profit per equity partner to fall from £210,000 to £164,000.
As recently as its 2011 financial year the firm reported turnover of £62m, pre-tax profit of £25m and profit per equity partner of £325,000.
In a joint statement, Ms Penley and Mr Werham said the most recent financial year shows changes need to be made to get the firm growing again.
They said: "We are very ambitious and we have a clear view of our business priorities. Accordingly, we will continue to target investment into expanding and diversifying our client base and further developing the business processes, tools and skills that enable us to deliver the highest quality of service and exceptional value for money that clients demand.
"The early indications from adopting this new approach are very positive."
The managing partners said the current financial year has started well with results ahead of projections in May and June and added: "Our activity levels are strong and – combined with no external bank borrowing – we have a strong platform to build our business further in the next 12 months."
During the financial year D&W acted on deals included the £210m sale of housebuilder Cala and the $1 billion refinancing carried out at Wood Group.
It also hailed the performance of its Aberdeen office, which has only been open a year, in completing 18 transactions and mandates.
As well as that the legal services unit of paralegals, set up in July last year to carry out some routine and repeat work traditionally done by solicitors, had completed the equivalent of 1400 days of lawyer's time which had reduced costs for clients.
The firm was reappointed by the likes of Standard Life Investments and Land Securities in the year, while also being included on the Government Procurement Service panel for the first time and taking a first-ranked position on the Scottish universities and colleges procurement panel.
Average partner numbers during the year were said to have been 78, down from 80 in the prior year.
The firm has seen a number of partners in and out the door including 10 appointments in May.
It was confirmed that D&W now has 73 partners and 450 staff in total.
Like many other firms D&W has seen its fee revenue eroded since the financial crisis because of factors including fewer corporate deals taking place and less activity in sectors such as real estate.
Earlier this year, Semple Fraser went out of business while a number of other firms have gone through redundancy programmes or merged with rivals.
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