Firms cut costs to battle declining revenues

A new survey indicates that small and midsized firms saw declining revenues during 2009 as a result of tough economic circumstances, but cuts in expenses resulted in small increases in profits. The Survey of Law Firm Economics, a joint project of ALM Legal Intelligence and The National Law Journal, receives most of its data from firms fewer than 150 lawyers. In 2008 these small and medium firms saw revenues decline by nearly five per cent – the largest drop in 25 years – and revenues continued to fall in 2009 by another one per cent. Declining revenues were addressed with a cost cutting campaign, with expense per lawyer falling by two per cent in 2008, and dropping by another five per cent in 2009.

Firms cut costs to battle declining revenues law.com Thu, Sep 2, 2010