2015 ALPMA/Crowe Horwath New Zealand Legal Industry Financial Performance Benchmarking Study

• Operating profits before interest and taxes average $280,000 per equity partner.
• The 10 best performers have an average operating profit of $568,000 per partner and a median operating profit of $396,000 per partner.
• Non-equity partners’ salaries average $195,000.
• The median work in progress (WIP) and debtor-days lockup amongst all firms surveyed is 86.36 days consisting of:
  • WIP days of 24.95
  • debtors days of 59.52
• The average revenue generated per fee earner is around $352,000 and more than $705,000 per partner.
• The 10 best performers average $1.017m per partner in revenue and the bottom 10 average $431,000 per partner.
• Average gross margins* are 78.06 per cent and average net operating profits* 30.39 per cent.
• Average return on capital employed is an impressive 61.46 per cent, seven per cent ahead of historic Australian results.

Are New Zealand law firms ready for a strong financial future?