“Big Law” Finds Renewed Strength at the Top: Peer Monitor
The large law firm market has largely been split so far this year, with the very largest segment of firms seeing gains, while other segments of the market are facing more challenging conditions.
The latest Peer Monitor report shows that through the first six months of the year, much of the strength in the market is among the Am Law 100 firms.
- Am Law 100 is the only large law segment that is growing so far this year
- This is partly because litigation, which accounts for about 30% of all large firm billings and has been in a steady long-term decline, is actually growing for Am Law 100 this year
| First Six Months of 2017 | Overall Demand | Litigation | Corporate |
| Am Law 100 | +1.6% | +0.2% | +3.1% |
| Am Law 101-200 | -0.5% | -1.8% | -2.5% |
| Am Law 200+ | -0.8% | -2.6% | +0.8% |
In the second quarter, the overall large law firm market was generally weaker. Demand was down 0.1 percent. Worked rates grew 2.8 percent in the second quarter, slightly less than in the first quarter.
Transactional practices were mixed. Corporate practices were flat despite continued growth in M&A activity. Real estate declined. However, tax work was up during the quarter
A copy of the Q2 2017 PMI report can be downloaded here: http://legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/law-products/solutions/peer-monitor/index-report-access
