Wells Fargo Survey Predicts Massive Law Firm Layoffs in 2013
11/20/12
Wells Fargo Survey Predicts Massive Law Firm Layoffs in 2013
According to a recently released survey by Wells Fargo, 15 percent of American law firms have said that they are planning to reduce partnerships in the first quarter of 2013. The reason being given is that these firms have a number of underused partners who are not pulling their weight.
The survey looked at the finances of 115 major law firms and also found that for the third quarter of 2012, firms had modest revenue gains while struggling to rein in their expenses. The firms reported that their growth was being constrained by partners who were not billing enough hours.
The number of hours billed by attorneys at all levels in the surveyed law firms were also down by 1.5 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. The survey showed that associates billed an average of 1,768 hours, which was considered an acceptable level although that was still a decrease of 0.5 percent. But hours billed by equity partners dropped by 1.7 percent to just 1,602 hours and non-equity partners billed just 1,533 hours, a drop of 1.6 percent.
Wells Fargo Survey Predicts Massive Law Firm Layoffs in 2013
According to a recently released survey by Wells Fargo, 15 percent of American law firms have said that they are planning to reduce partnerships in the first quarter of 2013. The reason being given is that these firms have a number of underused partners who are not pulling their weight.
The survey looked at the finances of 115 major law firms and also found that for the third quarter of 2012, firms had modest revenue gains while struggling to rein in their expenses. The firms reported that their growth was being constrained by partners who were not billing enough hours.
The number of hours billed by attorneys at all levels in the surveyed law firms were also down by 1.5 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. The survey showed that associates billed an average of 1,768 hours, which was considered an acceptable level although that was still a decrease of 0.5 percent. But hours billed by equity partners dropped by 1.7 percent to just 1,602 hours and non-equity partners billed just 1,533 hours, a drop of 1.6 percent.
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