A year of unpredictability

2022 was yet another year characterised by unpredictability. Not just for our firm but also for most of the world.

We went into 2022 with optimism. FY21 closed with yet another record result and a sense of relief that the pandemic and its knock-on effects had finally slackened its grip on everyday life and the dynamics that affect a business like ours. 2022 started off on a very positive note with prospects of a market in continuous growth and a strong appetite to develop our business.

In February, we witnessed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – a war and a tragedy for the many Ukrainians who have been forced to flee or live in inhumane conditions in their homeland. And a war that has since had major impact on the global community, and where we have also sought to contribute wherever we could.

Activity across practice areas

In the first half of 2022, we saw high activity and put our future strategy at the centre stage, while the second half of the year was characterised by uncertainty and a hesitant market. On the whole, we emerge from the year stronger, particularly on the staff side, and from a business perspective the year was satisfactory in light of market developments.

The high level of activity in the first half of 2022 was felt across our practice areas, especially on the transaction side, where the post-pandemic effects persisted and resulted in increased activity. The growth in the energy sector and the increased focus on green transition generated much activity, especially in terms of developing our teams and expertise. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also gave rise to a significant increase in demand for sanctions advice, and we also saw increased demand in the areas of defence and security. Finally, we felt the effects of the new EU regulation on ESG, and the fact that ESG is drawing increased attention in our clients’ boardrooms.

The economic slowdown hit our market in the second half of the year, where we generally saw lower activity levels than expected across our business. The transaction and real estate markets were especially hit due to high uncertainty and the prospect of a potential recession. The situation improved towards the end of the year, when we left our mark on one of the largest transactions in the history of Denmark advising Chr. Hansen in connection with the merger with Novozymes.

Adjustment of focus and investment in talent

Our long-standing client relationships and our capacity as a full-service law firm have shown their strength in yet another unpredictable year. While many of our competitors were forced to adjust their organisations, we adjusted our focus and allocated our resources to the areas in which our clients needed our services.

In terms of staff, we grew by 13 employees to a total of 548 employees of which 11 are new lawyers. At year-end, we reached a total of 315 lawyers. The group of partners also grew. In the course of the year, we brought in talent from within our own ranks, and we welcomed external partners in a few areas where we see a growth potential. For instance, early on in the year we welcomed Christian Halskov Sauer to help meet the increased demand and drive the development within Energy & Infrastructure. We also decided to boost our tax practice by bringing in Jakob Krogsøe and our construction and consultancy practice by bringing in Steen Hellmann. We decided to promote as new partners internally and expand our Shipping/Offshore/Transportation team with the appointment of Johan Casper Hennings, our Litigation team with the appointment of Søren Henriksen and our Banking & Finance team with the appointment of Tina Herbing.

During the year, we invested in a new leadership program in collaboration with AVT Business School to better equip our more experienced lawyers for the future and to increase our focus on leadership as a discipline within the firm. By the same token, we introduced a new management structure, where we spread out the management role more widely so that it does not to the same extent fall on the partners alone. Finally, we also made it a key focus to maintain and continue to build a broad pipeline of talent for the future, including through continued recruitment of more students and assistant attorneys.

It may seem like a paradox that in a year of great uncertainty about the future, we are investing so much in new talent, development of staff and expansion of business areas. We have chosen this approach because we believe that the investment is worthwhile in the long term. We aim to stand strong with a steady hand on the wheel – also in turbulent times. When the uncertain times are behind us, we know from experience that our market recovers quite quickly. And that is what we want to be prepared for. We have a fundamental belief that the course we have set for our firm is the right one, and on that score, we do not want to slow down.

Momentum 2025

When we launched the “In a league of our own” strategy, we put strong focus on professionalising our business, accelerating our development and adjusting our ambitions to be the absolute best law firm in the market. We defined ourselves as being in a league of our own and did not benchmark ourselves against our competitors but instead aimed to always be the best measured by our professionalism and advisory services, while at the same time being the preferred workplace for the country’s most talented lawyers.

In 2022, this strategy period was drawn to a close, and we are now looking back on three years of significant growth. We have a base of clients who choose us for our professionalism and recognise our work with great appreciation. This is reflected, for example, in Prospera’s market analysis and in the annual image survey conducted by IFO Institute for Public Opinion Analysis. Our employees are proud to be working with us. They are constantly developing their skills and putting all their energy into our clients’ ambitions and challenges. Commitment to teamwork and to our firm has never been stronger. In that framework, we have navigated through quite unpredictable circumstances – a pandemic, war on European soil, an economic downturn – and yet we are stronger today than we were three years ago. We are truly in a league of our own, and our employees eagerly embarked on the journey. For that we are grateful and proud.

It is our vision to remain in a league of our own. It has become part of our DNA that we have the confidence to say aloud that we are the best law firm on the market, and that we are committed to be number one. We are now using our position as a platform for a new strategy period; we have created the perfect framework for us to deliver on our ambitions to an even larger extent. We have momentum. We will use this momentum to become an even better law firm –for our clients and for our people.

During the first half of 2022, we took time to listen to our clients and to our people to learn how we can improve. Therefore, we invited our employees to kick off the new strategy “Momentum 2025” in August. With our clients’ needs in mind, we will continue to attract the very best lawyers, improve collaboration and become even better at running our business and maintain and grow our leading position in the market.

Satisfactory results for the year

It was our expectation that in 2022 our revenue would reach DKK 1 billion, – an expectation that was not fully reached. Our revenue came to DKK 986 million, corresponding to a growth of 3% owing to organic growth and continued positive developments across our practice areas. Overall, we are satisfied with the result in a year like 2022.

Outlook

In all likelihood, 2023 will be a volatile year for the global economy. It is our hope and expectation that the economic downturn will bottom out, but this is impossible to predict. Furthermore, the war in Ukraine and the geopolitical challenges it raises are not yet over. Yet, we are quite optimistic about 2023. Building on the development that our firm has undergone in recent years with investments in new talent and a renewed strategic focus, we are in a strong position to take market shares, strengthen our skills and services, and further streamline our business.

We foresee continued positive developments across our practice areas and continued increase in matters from new and existing clients. In 2023, we are expecting full employment across all our practice areas with the current workforce. This is in contrast to the second half of 2022, when some areas were affected by the economic slowdown. From this perspective, we are estimating a growth in revenue of around 5%-6%.

Martin André Dittmer Managing Partner

Total number of employees

* Number of employees

36 Senior legal counsels

123 Attorneys

82 Law students 51 151 Partners Staff by the end of 2022

Admitted to the Danish Bar

548 employees

29

Seconded to a client

16

Seconded to an international law firm

6

Law students on educational leave abroad

15

Total average age

51 partners

35