A number of firms have announced their profits for the year and for some, including Trowers & Hamlins, the results are not pretty.

Trowers' profits dropped 21.4% to £15.8 million, the poorest result in the field by far. The firm's revenue also dropped by 3%, to £78.3 million, and average profit per equity partner fell a whacking 14%, from £358k to £307k. Difficulties in the Middle East, a focus for the firm, may be partly to blame. Whereas the UK generated revenue of £61.5 million, of which £14.5 million was profit, the firm's non-UK offices (Oman, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and, uh oh, Cairo) were much less profitable, generating only £1.3 million of profit off the back of £16.8 million of revenue.

Another venture experiencing difficulties in Egypt

 
Shoosmiths profits also slumped dramatically, by 7%. And, although revenues rose 3.6% to £87 million, average equity partner drawings fell 9%, from £295k to £269k. Neither the firm's merger with Scottish firm Archibald Campbell & Harley nor that old standby, massive redundancies, were enough to offset crappy financials.

2012 wasn't a vintage year for Ashurst, Clifford Chance or Osborne Clarke, either. All disclosed drops in profit:



Clifford Chance was the only Magic Circle firm to experience a drop in profits (although Slaughter and May, as is its way, does not release figures). Managing partner David Childs, channelling a weatherman, blamed  "choppy" global conditions and "depressed transactional markets". The other Magic Circle firms are all over in the winner's table.