Survey Shows that Recession Driven Changes Are Here to Stay for Law Firms
05/22/13
Survey shows that recession-driven changes are here to stay for law firms
The fifth annual Altman Weil Law Firms in Transition Survey that was released on Tuesday shows that several law firm leaders now believe that the changes they made to their firms during the recession are likely to become permanent.
The main concerns that they have is that the demand for legal work is flat or shrinking with respect to many practice areas. 95.6 percent of the respondents said that they saw the increased pricing competition as an ongoing trend. Added to that is the fact that clients have become used to the discounted pricing and are likely to resist rates that are revised upwards. 80 percent of the respondents said they expect the shifts to non-hourly billing structures to continue.
The law firm leaders also recognize that they will continue to face competition from outsourcing companies and other nontraditional providers such as Internet-based legal services providers. 78.6 percent said they expect to face increased competition from these sources.
The survey was conducted in March and April 2013, and polled the managing partners and chairs of 791 American law firms with 50 or more lawyers. 238 law firms completed the survey, which includes 37% of the 250 largest American law firms.
The entire report can be read here:
http://www.altmanweil.com/dir_docs/resource/2d831a80-8156-4947-9f0f-1d97eec632a5_document.pdf
Survey shows that recession-driven changes are here to stay for law firms
The fifth annual Altman Weil Law Firms in Transition Survey that was released on Tuesday shows that several law firm leaders now believe that the changes they made to their firms during the recession are likely to become permanent.
The main concerns that they have is that the demand for legal work is flat or shrinking with respect to many practice areas. 95.6 percent of the respondents said that they saw the increased pricing competition as an ongoing trend. Added to that is the fact that clients have become used to the discounted pricing and are likely to resist rates that are revised upwards. 80 percent of the respondents said they expect the shifts to non-hourly billing structures to continue.
The law firm leaders also recognize that they will continue to face competition from outsourcing companies and other nontraditional providers such as Internet-based legal services providers. 78.6 percent said they expect to face increased competition from these sources.
The survey was conducted in March and April 2013, and polled the managing partners and chairs of 791 American law firms with 50 or more lawyers. 238 law firms completed the survey, which includes 37% of the 250 largest American law firms.
The entire report can be read here:
http://www.altmanweil.com/dir_docs/resource/2d831a80-8156-4947-9f0f-1d97eec632a5_document.pdf
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