MOney 2021: Methodology

The MOney 2021 rankings are for firms with $100 million or more in gross revenue. We also make year-over-year comparisons of changes in profit, revenue per lawyer, profit per equity partner and other measures. For firms below the $100 million threshold, we do not provide explicit rankings, but instead we provide a series of short profiles on a selection of law practices of various sizes to provide a detailed view of Missouri’s legal community.

Most firms volunteered information to Missouri Lawyers Media. Others cooperated conditionally or in part. For information not readily provided, we consulted firm insiders and made estimates based on industry data and information from participating firms. We round all financial figures in the MOney so as not to divulge which firms cooperated.

The MOney calculations show firmwide financial performance and take into account total attorneys, including those outside Missouri. To calculate average profits per equity partner and revenue per lawyer, we use average full-time equivalents, or FTEs, which take into account how long an attorney has been at a law firm and how many hours he or she works.

Revenue and profit numbers represent the firms’ 2020 fiscal year, which often but not always is the same as the calendar year.

The Firms includes law offices in Missouri with 10 or more attorneys, listed in order of size. Most numbers indicate headcount as of Dec. 31, though some firms provided FTE numbers are averaged attorney counts for the year. The counts are based on survey data and information from firm websites.

Reporting is by Senior Reporter Scott Lauck, Staff Reporter Jessica Shumaker and freelance researcher Jennie Goodman. 

Our definitions and calculations

REVENUE PER LAWYER is gross revenue divided by full-time equivalent lawyers for the fiscal year.

PROFIT is the total of compensation for equity partners plus the total of compensation for nonequity partners.

PROFIT PER PARTNER is calculated by subtracting total nonequity partner compensation from profit, then dividing by equity partners. For firms that have a minimal or no nonequity partner tier, net income was divided by partners.

LEVERAGE is the ratio of all attorneys to equity partners.