Rising Demand for Global IP Work Pushes Finnegan’s PEP Up Nearly 20%

The American Lawyer spotlighted Finnegan’s successful year in 2025, where profits per equity partner (PEP) rose 19.7% to $1.63 million and gross revenue increased to $370.1 million. This was a reflection of the strong global demand for intellectual property litigation and the firm’s continued international expansion. The firm built on several years of sustained growth across high-tech sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and artificial intelligence. 

James Barney, managing partner at Finnegan, told The American Lawyer, “We are very much in a growth phase. We experienced growth, actually, in all litigation cases. Very robust with trademark litigation this year, very robust patent litigation this year, and very robust trade secret litigation this year.” 

Discussing the firm’s global litigation footprint, James underscored the increasing complexity of cross-border matters. “It is not uncommon for us to be simultaneously handling litigation in the U.S. and Germany for some of our clients,” he explained, noting that developments in the Unified Patent Court and German jurisdiction continue to drive demand. He further emphasized the advantages of Finnegan’s integrated approach: “Our clients are finding that there is incredible synergy in having a single firm handle complex patent issues and litigation issues on both sides of the Atlantic, we are often able to share the same people who are developing the cases and developing the strategy.” 

He explained that the firm’s increased PEP was not driven by reductions in personnel, but rather by heightened demand and continued investment in international IP clients. He noted, “We are continuing to experience strong demand in our European offices; patent litigation is becoming a more global enterprise, so we often see multi-venue and multinational litigations involving clients and patents.” 

James also highlighted the firm’s expanding partnership ranks, pointing to the elevation of 12 associates and the addition of five partners, each bringing distinct strengths to the practice. He described the year’s staffing shifts as routine, attributing them to natural transitions within the partnership. “We had normal retirements. We had some folks transition to essentially a senior council position,” he said, adding that while there were a few mid-year departures, “the change in the head count is fairly organic and routine.” 

James also pointed to the firm’s strategic expansion into emerging technologies, highlighting the launch of its AI + Finnegan practice. “We’ve been dealing with AI since its inception and were on the ground floor of that, but because of the marketplace and the growth in AI generally, we felt it was time to take a leadership position in the AI practice.” 

Finally, he noted that demand for prosecution and regulatory guidance continues to accelerate, driven by shifting rules and evolving strategies in inter partes review. As James explained, “There’s some interesting things going on with new rules and practices for inter partes review examinations, and with these drastic changes in policy and strategy, our clients are looking for the absolute best, most sophisticated intellectual property advice that they can get, and that’s why they’re coming to Finnegan and why that has been a growth area.”  

Read Rising Demand for Global IP Work Pushes Finnegan’s PEP Up Nearly 20%