insight - Burges Salmon

Simon Russell, Commercial DirectorSTRONGFOUNDATIONSAs you will have read in Alan Barr’s introduction tothis year’s Insight, Burges Salmon is performingwell in what is a very competitive and challengingmarketplace, with turnover up 7% for the year ending30 April 2012 at £71 million.It was very satisfying to have achieved our income targetfor the financial year. This was in line with the firm’s mediumterm strategic plan as we continue to grow both in the UKand internationally. We remain a well-managed and wellcapitalisedfirm with a strong balance sheet and no debt.Crucially, we also continue to invest in the business,supporting continued organic growth through the ongoingdevelopment of talented lawyers and staff, as well assecuring excellent facilities where we can cater for the needsof our diverse client base in both Bristol and London.Like most firms we expect challenging trading conditionsto continue in the year ahead. However, the spread of ourclient work across a significant number of major sectorsand practice areas is undoubtedly helping to keep ourperformance on track.We pride ourselves on our ability to offer high quality legalservices to a broad base of UK and international clients,ranging from listed companies to government departmentsand public bodies, privately owned enterprises and high networth individuals.During 2012 the firm has seen growth coming from a widerange of areas including energy, transport, insurance, andthe public sector. Transactional activity in areas such asrenewables, financial services, food and drink, softwareservices, sport and leisure has also gathered pace.The list on the opposite page provides a summary of the keyservice areas and industry sectors in which we offer what is,in many cases, market leading legal expertise. It isthe combination of both technical and commercial insightthat allows our lawyers to continue to be regarded astrusted advisers to so many high profile clients in theUK and beyond.FIRM TURNOVER £’00070,00065,00060,00055,00050,00045,00040,00035,00030,00025,00020,0002003200420052006AWARDS RECOGNITIONDuring 2012 the firm’s exceptional achievements have beenrecognised by leading legal and industry award schemes.This includes being named Competition/Regulatory Team ofthe Year by The Lawyer magazine and being shortlisted in theEuropean Pensions Awards. Jeremy Dickerson was namedas one of the Lawyer’s Hot 100 for his work on the DiscoveryChannel litigation case, which was also listed amongst themagazine’s Top 20 litigation cases. More recently the firmhas been shortlisted as Litigation & Regulatory Team of theYear and Commercial Team of the Year in the 2012 BritishLegal Awards, due to be judged on 22 November.20072008200920102011201226 INSIGHT Burges Salmon Annual Review 2012