The Rise of Midlaw

The Wall Street Journal (subscription) has an article that doesn’t go so far as to proclaim the end of Biglaw, but does speak to the rise of midsize firms. The less-than-200-attorney firms are getting a little recession boom as clients seek out lower rates:

A survey of 550 large companies by BTI Consulting Group found that 38% of the law firms they hired last year came from below the nation’s top 200 in terms of revenue, which generally means small and midsize firms. That was up from 25% in 2007.

Florida company AutoNation is one of the clients that has switched from Biglaw to Midlaw for its legal work, and shaved its bill by a quarter. Its new firm, Angelo & Banta, charges $200 to $495 an hour for work done by senior partners, according to its managing partner.
So how can Biglaw firms hold on to their clients?

General counsel and consultants say that to keep valuable clients, big firms have been more receptive to charging flat fees, removing some uncertainty for clients who otherwise would be billed by the hour. And when large firms do charge hourly rates, they often are doing so at a discount.

The good news is that midsize firms are hiring. The bad news is that those jobs come with midsized paychecks.
Midsize Law Firms Pick Up Clients as Companies Turn From Pricey Giants [Wall Street Journal]

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