Biglaw

It's Good To Be An Elite Biglaw Firm -- Demand For Services Is Up

Litigation leads the way!

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According to a new report from Thomson Reuters, demand for law firm services (measured in hours billed) is up — at a higher rate in the second quarter of 2018 than in any other quarter during the past six years. The demand is up 1.4 percent, and when you look at the demand in just the Am Law 100, demand is up a noteworthy 3.2 percent.

As Law.com reports, it’s part of a larger trend where the Biglaw rich just keep getting richer:

As has been the case for the past few years, the country’s largest and most profitable firms, the Am Law 100, experienced the greatest growth in demand, ratcheting up 3.2 percent. That compared to a 0.2 percent decline for the Second Hundred (the sixth consecutive quarter of Second Hundred demand declines) and 1.8 percent demand growth for midsized firms.

This increase has largely been led by an increased demand for litigation. That’s a nice change of pace for that segment, which has underperformed in recent years:

Demand for litigation, which grew 2.2 percent, was higher than any other practice during the second quarter. For the year, litigation demand is up 0.6 percent, marking the first time since 2012 that demand for litigators’ time has been positive at the halfway point.

Also rising is the invoices sent to clients, known as worked billing rate. For the fourth quarter in a row, that metric is growing above 3 percent:

Worked billing rates—the invoices that firms send to clients—rose 3.4 percent in the second quarter, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of growth above 3 percent. Am Law 100 firms again led the way with 4.2 percent growth, compared to 2.8 percent growth for the Second Hundred and 3 percent growth for midsize firms.

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Overall, it’s a story that’s getting increasingly familiar — things are good if you’re at the top of the Biglaw heap. But travel even a short amount down the rankings, and the landscape is more concerning.

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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