Peer Monitor Index drops in Q3
The Peer Monitor Economic Index (PMI) dropped six points to 56 in Q3. The Hildebrandt Institute report showed that demand for law firm services weakened slightly, while expenses rose, reducing law firm productivity and profitability.
Although demand for litigation services rose 1.5 percent in the third quarter, demand for transactional services such as M&A fell, due largely to volatility in financial markets.
PMI has been tracking a steady rise in expenses this year as firms have been slowly increasing their hiring. However, expenses are now growing faster than demand, reducing profitability.
A full copy of the report can be downloaded here.