Briefing Database: DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020

As we say goodbye to 2019, what do the latest demand figures for the third quarter suggest about the state of the US legal market?

AMONG STRONG OVERALL DEMAND GROWTH, IT’S ANOTHER MIXED PICTURE BY PRACTICE AREA

DEMAND OVERALL SHIFTS TOWARD THE BIG LAW MID-TIER

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Peer Monitor Perspective
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In the US legal market, the third quarter of 2019 saw some of the strongest demand growth since the end of the recession almost a decade ago – it was up 2.4%. Continued rate growth also contributed to strong top-line growth. However, revenue increases were also tempered by a rise in expenses and decline in productivity.

In terms of practice areas, litigation continued to be a key growth driver for much of large law – gaining 2.1% – but transactional practices were
mixed. Corporate, real estate, labour and employment, and bankruptcy all showed gains, but tax and patent practices dropped in terms of demand.
There’s also a notable shift in demand toward the mid-tier of the large law firm market, or outside the ‘top 50′.

In partnership with Peer Monitor

This article can be found in Briefing‘s December/January edition: Delivery of the decade