Firms Should Look to the Ranks of Partners for Costs Savings

2009 was without doubt a bad year for major law firms. And since a robust recovery is unlikely in the current economic environment, these firms need to come to terms with a new era in which the fundamental economics of legal practice are significantly different. These are some of the conclusions reported in the 2010 Client Advisory released this week by the consultants at Hildebrandt Baker Robbins and the Citi Private Bank division of Citigroup, Inc. According to the report commercial success may require a reassessment of the way major law firms do business, as firms face decreased demand for their services, increased price pressure from clients and the prospect of being unable to sustain expenses stemming from years of growth. Cost cutting efforts continue apace, but the report (which studied the top US firms) advised that the key to a firm’s individual performance during the recovery will be how it deals with costs that have until now been spared. It is anticipated that further cost cutting efforts will focus upon paring down the ranks of partners.

Firms Should Look to the Ranks of Partners for Costs Savings amlawdaily.typepad.com Wed, Mar 3, 2010