Top-tier commercial law firm Burness Paull has managed to boost both its revenue and profitability in its most recent fiscal year despite the headwinds affecting the broader legal sector.

The first half of 2022 was not kind to the legal sector. According to recent market research from Wells Fargo and the Thomson Reuters Institute, law firms’ net income slid more than 9% during the six months through June 31 while profit-per-equity partner plunged 11%.

The reason: a double whammy of aggressive hiring in 2021, which grew firms’ expenses, and declining deal activity this year that shrank their revenues. A drop in deals such as corporate acquisitions translates into lower commissions for the commercial law firms and other consulting providers hired to manage such transactions.

But Burness Paull has bucked the industry trend. The Scottish firm, which consistently nabs top spots in the prestigious Legal 500 industry ranking, says that its revenue grew 9 percent during its fiscal year ended July 31 to £78.6 million.

Profits are up as well, by 7 percent, to £35.7 million.

Burness Paull is celebrating by handing out bonuses to all its staffers. The bonus is worth either 5 percent of a staffer’s annual salary or £2,500, whichever of the two is higher.

Burness Paull explained that the revenue and profit jump was the result of growth across its corporate finance, real estate, banking, funds, dispute resolution and employment practices.

Large corporate deals, a major revenue source for commercial legal firms, also factored into Burness Paull’s strong financial results. Two notable highlights: Burness Paull helped Scandinavian real estate giant Heimstaden Bostad enter the Scottish market with a £125 million property deal and provided buyer-side advice in the sale of Telefónica Tech.

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