Recession’s Grip Loosening for Many Law Firms

Finally, a very positive indicator for the legal business-demand for legal services is increasing.

According to the Wall Street Journal Law blog, demand increased in the 4^th quarter of 2010--a sign not seen in the profession in over two years.  The Journal  cites a report by Hildebrand Baker Robbins that gathered information from 100 large and medium-sized U.S and international firms.

The biggest upswing was noted in Los Angeles with a 4% gain in demand.  Chicago and Houston reported 3% gains over last year.  New York was the exception to the trend with a 1.5% downturn.

The Hildebrandt study measured demand by billable hours, noting  a 1% overall increase from 4^th quarter 2009 to the same period in 2010.  Litigation billables jumped 2% and transactional gains rose a whopping 5%.

According to The Journal,  demand for legal services will continue this year.  This trend of increasing demand for legal services normally translates into a corresponding increase in jobs in order to handle the additional work.

"Firms have begun to step up their hiring of new associates," WSJ.com quotes Mark Medici of Hildebrandt, with "many firms beginning to switch from defense to offense as the economy improves."

On the flip side, we reported last week on the Lexis Hub that new student applications to law school are down.  Fewer people are riding out the recession by applying to law school.

Source:

Wall Street Journal Law blog

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