Peer Monitor Index drops in Q4
The see-saw trends in the market for law firm services continues. The Peer Monitor Economic Index (PMI), which measures the relative health of the legal marketplace, fell in the fourth quarter, dropping three points to 54.
Overall, 2014 saw weak but steady growth in demand. However, falling productivity and rate growth helped to dampen law firm profitability. Transactional practices (corporate work, M&A, real estate, tax work) continue to show strength, while litigation and other practices are lagging.
The market continues to face many challenges in 2015, including pricing pressure from clients and increasing segmentation of legal services, including the emergence of non-legal providers such as legal process outsourcing.