滨苍听, available on the聽, we dug a bit deeper into some of the themes discussed in the report, and in particular some of the things that media coverage may have overlooked, with Jim Jones, Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Legal Profession at the Georgetown Law Center and the report鈥檚 chief author.

Following the surprisingly strong performance of 2020 and the outstanding results firms experienced in 2021, the downturn of 2022 was not unexpected, yet was still understandably troubling for many law firm leaders.

While the report has garnered widespread media coverage, this podcast is one of the relatively few opportunities to hear directly from the author on what may lay behind some of the headlines. For example, much of the media coverage has gravitated toward the findings from this year鈥檚 report that the average lawyer produced roughly $98,000 less in fees for their firm in 2022 compared to 2007 due to declining productivity. In this podcast, we discuss why that may be the case and what law firms may be able to do about it.

The topic of mobile demand, another key theme from the report, is also revisited. Clients seem intent on continuing to explore ways to optimize the distribution of their outside legal work to maximize return while controlling costs. As a result, the continued migration of work throughout the legal market, and especially downwind to lower cost legal service providers, seems likely to continue.

Jones also shares his thoughts on why he is a bit surprised that so much of the media coverage of this report has focused on the negative aspects of law firms鈥� financial performance in 2022. 鈥淭here is the problem of the 鈥榳hat have you done for me lately鈥� attitude,鈥� Jones says. 鈥淲hen you鈥檝e gone through a couple years of real economic success, whenever there鈥檚 a dip after that, it feels like civilization is coming apart, when actually it could be a return to a more normal level of performance, which could, in fact, be what鈥檚 happening.鈥�

Following the surprisingly strong performance of 2020 and the outstanding results firms experienced in 2021, the downturn of 2022 was not unexpected, yet was still understandably troubling for many law firm leaders. As firms look to set or even perhaps re-examine strategic goals going into 2023, beginning that exploration with as complete a picture of the current state of affairs in the legal market and what the near future may hold will help leaders arrive at the strategies that could yield more favorable results.

You can hear all about the 鈥�2023 Report on the State of the Legal Market鈥� with Jim Jones here, on .

Indeed, one key metric 鈥� profits-per-equity partner (PPEP) 鈥� is down for the first time since 2009, which occurred during the last global financial crisis.

This scenario and lessons in how law firms are attempting to navigate these choppy waters is mapped out in the 2023 Report on the State of the Legal Market, issued today by the Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession at Georgetown University Law Center and the 成人VR视频 Institute.

The annual report reviews the performance of U.S. law firms and breaks down the factors that most impact financial success and drive the need for a strategic view of firms鈥� market positions, operations, and future plans.

This year鈥檚 report shows that throughout 2022, growing political and economic uncertainty significantly reduced clients鈥� appetite for transactional work 鈥� which had become the white-hot driver of demand throughout 2021 and the early part of 2022. Indeed, possibly the most prominent development in the legal industry in 2022 was the substantial slowing in demand growth that firms experienced throughout the year. On a year-to-date basis through November 2022, overall legal demand contracted by 0.1%, which stood in stark contrast to the 3.7% growth rate recorded for all of 2021.

Not surprisingly, this collapse in demand growth, especially in the transactional practice, fell more heavily on larger law firms. At the same time, many law firms continued to add new lawyers at a healthy pace. As a result, productivity declined, even as direct and overhead expenses remained high, much to law firms鈥� dismay.

The combination of all these factors pulled down PPEP from its 2021 levels, although it still remains in a relatively good position historically.

However, the report shows that growing uncertainty over macro-issues, such as economic sluggishness in the United States and throughout the world, the challenge of returning to the office, and the rising costs of talent all set the stage for a very difficult 2023 for the legal industry.

One interesting note to the report was the relative strength of the Midsize law firm segment, which stood alone among other market segments in seeing positive demand growth in 2022. The report attributes this to clients鈥� willingness to move work in search of high-quality but more cost-effective outside counsel.

Looking to the leadership of Luis Urz煤a

The report also noted that in times of uncertainty, organizations have a tendency to hunker down to protect against both real and imagined dangers. To steer a firm successfully through such periods requires leaders to embrace somewhat different priorities and be willing to experiment with new ways of operating.

To illustrate further, the report relates the incident of the terrible mine collapse in Chile in August 2010 that trapped 33 miners for 69 days deep underground. Facing certain catastrophe, the miners rallied around their shift foreman, Luis Urz煤a, who was a recognized leader and trusted by the men.

The report notes that Urz煤a鈥檚 leadership skills were a key reason that the miners survived. Taking note that organizations rarely if ever face uncertainties as severe or as consequential as those that confronted the Chilean miners, the report states that nevertheless, it is often in extreme situations that critical leadership traits are most visible.

Urz煤a鈥檚 leadership manner emphasized telling the truth, requiring teamwork, and staying focused to great success. It allowed his team of miners to concentrate on the singular task at hand 鈥� surviving their ordeal together 鈥� despite the dire circumstances in which they found themselves.

The report also suggests that as law firms confront a period of significant economic and market uncertainty, the lessons that were exemplified by the leadership of Luis Urz煤a can provide some useful guidance for many law firm leaders as they navigate the uncertainties of 2023 and beyond.

You can download the full “2023 Report on the State of the Legal Market” by filling out the form below:

Not insignificantly, many law firms became entangled in an ongoing competition for top legal talent, adding to their overall costs; at the same time, many also began seeing early hints that legal demand was slowing in some practice areas.

Taking stock of all this, the newly published Law Firm Business Leaders Report attempts to gauge the mindset of US law firm business leaders 鈥� managing partners as well as those allied professionals who are responsible for running their firm鈥檚 business operations and may be the proverbial canaries in the coalmine in regard to future challenges to firms鈥� bottom lines. This annual report is published by the 成人VR视频 Institute, in partnership with the Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession at the Georgetown University Law Center and the True Value Partnering Institute.

The report shows that law firm business leaders see general economic worries 颅鈥� inflation, potential recession, ongoing war, supply line disruptions, and a charged political environment 鈥� as major threats to the continuing profitability of their firms.

Concerns over general economic pressures were cited as a high risk to law firm profitability by almost one-third of those surveyed, twice the level of those who thought this in last year鈥檚 report

Indeed, concerns over general economic pressures were cited as a high risk to their law firm鈥檚 profitability by almost one-third of those surveyed, twice the level of those who thought this in last year鈥檚 report. In fact, these worries moved to 2^nd place in the list of most-cited risk concerns in the survey, up from 9^th place last year.

It鈥檚 as if there鈥檚 been an outward shift in law firm business leaders鈥� gaze toward the uncertain world outside the office. Underscoring that, law firm business leaders identified fears of outside cyber-attacks by illicit actors as their number one most concerning threat, with 42% of those surveyed citing it as a high risk to firm profitability. These fears about security breaches, hacks, ransomware demands, and data loss, marked its first appearance as a survey option choice in this year鈥檚 survey.

Of course, the report reflect only dismal thinking. In a move toward the positive, most business leaders who were surveyed said they expect at least a medium level of growth across many of their firms鈥� practice areas, and even a high level of growth in practice areas such as intellectual property and mergers & acquisitions. And more than half (52%) said they expect one key financial metric, profits per lawyer, to grow moderately over the next three years.

Yet, even as law firm business leaders begin to map out their business strategy for the next few years by taking steps to improve their firms鈥� financial performance 鈥� raising rates, improving technology, supporting more remote work, and increasing cross-selling throughout the firm 鈥� many are keeping at least one wary eye outward, on the horizon, and wondering if those darkening clouds signify a more worrisome future.

You can download a copy of the 成人VR视频 Institute鈥檚 鈥淟aw Firm Business Leaders Report鈥� by filling out the form below:

The annual State of the Legal Market report, recently published by the Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession at Georgetown University Law Center and the 成人VR视频 Institute, reviews the performance of U.S. law firms and breaks down the factors that drive the need for firms to take a longer-range, more strategic view of their market positions.

on the channel, Bill Josten, manager of legal industry and law firm content at 成人VR视频 Institute, speaks with Jim Jones, a senior fellow with Georgetown Law and the report鈥檚 chief author, about some of topics that have garnered the most attention since the report鈥檚 release, as well as a few topics that have perhaps flown a bit more under the radar.

You can here

In the podcast, the pair discusses how can lawyers say they鈥檙e working harder than ever before when the numbers may tell us a different story? Indeed, talent issues and related compensation challenges are proving to be a major issue in the current legal market. In fact, the pair examine how higher compensation doesn鈥檛 seem to be stemming the rates of attrition of associates from law firms. So, that leaves the question of what steps are going to be necessary to reverse that trend and what sort of innovative approaches might law firms consider?

Further, Josten and Jones note that while the market for law firm services has been hugely lucrative for the past two years, there potential signs that some of the foundational elements for this success might be shakier than they appear. Should law firm leaders be concerned?

And finally, the pair ask whether the nature of the work done by today鈥檚 law firms has fundamentally shifted towards transactional practices and away from litigation, a long-time powerhouse practice focus?

Despite the unprecedented disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, large law firms, for the most part, were able to adapt. According to the report, 鈥渢hat most firms were able to adjust to these challenges with notable success is a tribute to the innovation and resiliency of law firms and their leaders.鈥� While the pandemic is seen as posing continuing challenges going forward, law firms leaders are generally optimistic in their outlook for 2021, and fairly bullish on their firms鈥� three-year outlook.

鈥淭here are signs we may look back on the COVID-19 crisis as a moment that significantly accelerated many changes that firms had resisted in advancing their delivery of legal services, and introduced new changes as well,鈥� said James W. Jones, a senior fellow at the Center at Georgetown and the report’s lead author.

You can download a full copy of the here.

Nearly all law firms instituted aggressive cost-cutting measures, including the first widespread lawyer headcount reductions since the 2008-鈥�09 financial crisis. Firms also cut salaries, reduced partner draws, furloughed staff, and slashed overhead, especially in expenses related to reduced use of office space. According to data from , these moves to support revenues and reduce costs boosted law firm profitability 鈥� as measured by profits-per-equity-partner 鈥� by double-digit rates.

鈥淎s firms turn the page on a challenging year, they may also be rethinking how they have been managing their practices and operations,鈥� said Mike Abbott, vice president of Market Insights and Thought Leadership at 成人VR视频. 鈥淎s harsh as the COVID-19 situation has been, it presents an opportunity for firms to seize the new experiences, skills, and technologies they鈥檝e gained during the crisis to create sustained competitive advantages.鈥�

The new report relies on data from Peer Monitor and , now part of 成人VR视频. The report reviews the performance of U.S. law firms and breaks down the new market realities that are seen as driving the need for firms to take a longer-range, more strategic view of their market positions.

For the most part, the initial responses of law firms appear to have been measured and fairly reasonable:

• • • All firm have moved quickly to protect cash flow by suspending or reducing equity partner draws, by temporarily reducing lawyer and staff compensation, by furloughing staff whose jobs cannot be performed remotely, by reducing discretionary expenses, and by putting various projects and initiatives on hold;
    • Most firms have also shortened or cancelled their summer associate programs or are redesigning them to be as 鈥渞emote鈥� as possible, usually with promises to keep the summer associates who are affected financially whole; and
    • Most actions, at least thus far, have been implemented in ways that appear to protect firm staff and employees as much as possible. For example, while some firms have terminated small numbers of employees (including lawyers), the layoffs have mostly been in the nature of furloughs that preserve health insurance and other benefits. Likewise, compensation reductions that have been imposed have generally been labeled as 鈥渢emporary鈥� with every expectation of being restored once the crisis is passed. And the same is true for reduced contributions to 401(k) plans or other benefits.

What these actions indicate is that most firms have decided that the financial burden of the current crisis should be borne primarily by their equity partners. This conclusion strikes me as completely reasonable given the circumstances of the present challenge. During 2019, most Am Law 100 and 200 firms experienced strong financial performance with average revenue increasing about 5.5% overall with profits up as well, in some cases quite significantly. As a result, most firms entered 2020 reasonably strong financially, with more capacity to absorb an economic hit 鈥� at least one of limited duration.

It鈥檚 also important to remember that the present economic crisis is quite different from that of 2008, where the crisis was caused by structural issues in the economy itself. In the present case, the crisis has resulted from external factors imposed on an underlying economy that remains reasonably strong. Hence, assuming that business operations can return to some semblance of normalcy within the next few months, it seems reasonable to expect that economic recovery could occur much more quickly than after the collapse in late 2007 and 2008. It also seems likely that 鈥� as in the past 鈥� the legal industry would be one of the 鈥渓eading鈥� sectors in such recovery.

Of course, no one can predict with certainty what the path of the current pandemic will be, and there is always the chance that a second wave of the virus could spread in the fall. But, for now, most firms appear to be taking an approach that assumes (or at least, hopes for) a relatively quick resolution while keeping in reserve further actions that could be taken if necessary.

All of this seems quite prudent. But, against that background, what are the things that should be top of mind for law firm leaders today? I would suggest at least four, such as:

1. Foster Personal Relationships

In this period of continuing uncertainty and imposed isolation, it is critical to remember that personal relationships are important. In these circumstances, it is almost impossible for leaders to communicate too much. Everyone in the law firm from the partners to all the other lawyers, professionals, and staff need to know that their leaders understand the situation and are making rational decisions to manage it in a reasonable way. That process and resulting decisions need to be communicated over and over again 鈥� not just through firmwide memos or emails but in direct personal conversations. All law firm leaders, including senior management, practice and team leaders, administrative department heads, and others, should be directly involved in this process.

Equally important, law firms should remain in close personal contact with all of their key clients. Senior management should ensure that appropriate partners and others are in regular touch with their client counterparts throughout the crisis period.

2. Examine Our Pandemic Response

It is not too early for law firm leaders to begin asking what we have learned from the coronavirus experience. Consistent with standard risk management procedures, working groups should be convened even now to consider how firms responded to the crisis. Some useful questions should include: What surprised us? What were we not prepared for? What worked well and what didn鈥檛? What have we learned about how to better prepare for future events? What changes do we need to make in our structures or processes to be better prepared?

It is worth remembering that this is not a purely academic exercise. As previously mentioned, there is every likelihood that the current pandemic could heat up again in the fall or winter. So, it is a discussion that should be taking place now.

3. Establish Contingency Plans

Considering that the path of the pandemic cannot be predicted with any certainty, it鈥檚 also important for law firm leaders to have carefully thought out contingency plans that can be implemented relatively quickly depending on the turn of events.

Firms should know what they will need to do if closure orders persist longer than expected, or if revenues drop off more sharply than predicted, or if a wave of infections directly impacts the organization, etc. Ideally, such plans should provide for a series of escalating actions that could be undertaken depending on the severity of the unfolding circumstances.

4. Think about How Work Will Change

Even as we struggle to manage through the current pandemic, it鈥檚 important to begin to think about how the legal industry鈥檚 experience in this crisis may impact and change our work in permanent ways, even in a post-coronavirus world. Although it is no doubt too early to suggest definitive answers to this question, there are clearly some themes that are emerging, including:

• • • The present crisis has demonstrated the feasibility of delivering legal services in a far more virtual way than we have seen before. Law firms have talked for a long time about encouraging work-at-home arrangements to achieve better work-life balance and to accommodate the family needs of lawyers and other employees. The past several weeks have shown that such arrangements can work, perhaps better than many firms imagined.
    • Similarly, the pandemic has pressed us to explore the full potential of on-line meetings, demonstrating the surprising functionality of this tool and perhaps paving the way for less meeting-related travel in the future. Particularly interesting has been the use of on-line sessions for various courts and tribunals around the country.
    • Clearly the current crisis has demonstrated the growing importance of improved technology in the delivery of legal services, and the role that technology will no doubt play in improving both the efficiency and cost effectiveness of legal service delivery in the future. Firms should reconsider their own technology needs and capabilities in light of these new realities.
    • And, not surprisingly, the experience in the present pandemic will likely encourage clients to insist on further efficiencies and further reductions in costs for legal services in the post-coronavirus world.

It is not too early to begin considering how these themes may impact law firm strategies moving forward.

In short, law firms have thus far done a credible job in responding to the COVID-19 crisis in measured and reasonable ways. But challenges remain, especially as the pandemic continues forward. Indeed, the job of law firm leaders in successfully guiding their firms in this uncertain period has really just begun.

The report quotes Prof. Willie Pietersen, of Columbia Business School, stating that 鈥渓ong-term success in business depends on the ability to do two seemingly contradictory things at the same time: improve existing processes and products and invent totally new, better processes and products.鈥�

Today, midsize law firms are caught in a rather precarious position during this period of change. On one hand, they are generally more nimble and able to better react to market changes than their larger counterparts, many of which face greater institutional inertia. On the other hand, they often lack some of the leadership infrastructure that can serve as a change-driver within larger law firms. The smaller management staff increases the pressure on partners and committees to manage both sides of the business paradox that Prof. Pietersen outlines.

To dig deeper into this question, 成人VR视频 Legal Executive Institute has published the ,聽as a special look into this segment of the law firm market, how it鈥檚 adapting to needed change, and the challenges it is facing.

Of course, to drive any sort of change, a law firm must first be in a sustainable and stable financial position. And fortunately for many midsize law firms, 2019 represented a return to positive territory on many key metrics, and greater positivity in others. For example, midsize law firms finished the year with positive demand growth (as measured by total billable hours) for the second year in a row, ending 2019 up 0.4% on average, after posting 0.2% growth in 2018. The growth in worked rates (the rates a firm agrees to with clients) for midsize firms, finished the year at 3.0%, capping off seven consecutive years of steadily improving worked rate growth.

Changing Firm Structure

Midsize firms grew their headcount last year by a relatively modest 1.3% on average, which was 0.6 percentage points slower than the next closest market segment. However, this meant that midsize firms were able to keep their productivity loss in check at only 1.1%, far better than Am Law Top 50 firms, which saw productivity decline by an average of 2.4% in 2019. Midsize firms, by and large, are top heavy, and 2019 saw an attempted balancing: replenishing equity partners at less than 50% and associates at 150%. These moves also create a side benefit of increasing profits per equity partner.

To tackle the business paradox, midsize firms are following their larger competitors in building out teams of professional staff, expanding the 鈥淐-suite鈥� and adding legal project managers, pricing specialists, and heads of strategy or innovation. Last year saw an increase in staff compensation expense to accommodate these growing teams. These new roles are more aligned with client expectations, and not coincidently, more aligned with client structure.

Changing Business Models

Firms are also changing their underlying business models to coincide with the change in law firm structure. Likely stemming from client demands, the need to compete, and the rapid pace of technology innovation, investment in technology grew 6.7% year-over-year. Technology is helping firms to deliver more value to the clients they serve, both in outcome and experience. Firms are increasingly turning to alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) to help manage work the firm would have traditionally handled in house, but can now be performed more efficiently, cost effectively, and with higher quality through outside vendors. Marketing and business development saw a noticeable reversal in investment, climbing from a 1.6% contraction in 2018 to a 1.7% investment growth in 2019. An increased focus on marketing and business development should help firms improve the perception of their individual brands in the market, which in turn will help them capture an increased share of the mature market. A few of the larger firms are even creating 鈥渃aptive鈥� subsidiaries for legal related services, a form of internal ALSP.

As Prof. Pietersen advises, it is critically important to recognize when a disruptive change is occurring and take action, and there is strong evidence that a significant disruption in the market is occurring. Many firms are continuing to improve existing processes, a few are inventing totally new, better processes, and some are sitting idle.

As we watch the market change, the risk to any individual law firm is not complete obsolescence, rather it is being marginalized as others shift to meet market demands. The firms that shift with it will be the ones that come out on top.

Download a copy of the 成人VR视频 Legal Executive Institute鈥檚 new .

While law firms enjoyed a second consecutive year of demand growth and near historic highs in average worked rate growth, clients continued to gain increasing levels of influence on how and by whom their work is completed. This has been demonstrated by the continued rise of alternative legal service providers (ALSPs), including the Big Four accounting firms as well as other non-law firm service providers, often called law companies.

However, despite the decrease in market share owing to the rise of these new law companies and ALSPs, lawyer headcount has continued to grow at an increasing pace at law firms. This was most clearly shown in the fourth quarter of 2019 when lawyer growth in the market reached the highest point since 2011, resulting in a decline in productivity. However, declining productivity is not a new trend, as lawyer growth has continually outpaced demand for the vast majority of the past decade and has had a costly effect on law firm bottom lines.

Indeed, outside of one quarter in 2013 as well as a brief period of growth in 2018, productivity has continually been on the decline. In 2011, lawyers at firms in the Peer Monitor program worked an average of 126 billable hours per month; by 2019, that number had decreased to 122. When coupling this decline of four hours per month per lawyer, or 48 hours per year, with the average worked rate for lawyers in 2019 of $518, the loss in productivity cost law firms on average $24,864 dollars per lawyer this past year alone. Based on the average firm size in the Peer Monitor program of 425 lawyers, the average cost for this comes out to more than $10.5 million per firm in 2019.

The size of the average cost lends credence to the assertion that declining productivity is currently a major threat to profitability growth in the present and in the immediate future.

Perhaps the extreme levels of rate growth throughout the legal market in 2019 were an attempt by firms to recapture some of this lost revenue due to declining lawyer productivity. If that鈥檚 the thinking among firms, however, it is curious that hiring rates continued to increase. One explanation could be law firms may be anticipating sustained demand growth in the future, or possibly preparing for the imminent retirement of many Baby Boomer-aged lawyers.

Whatever the case may be, it is clear that the overall cost of declining lawyer productivity is much higher than it may seem at first glance.

For a complete discussion of the current state of the legal market, as well as exploration of how some firms are choosing to adapt, you can download a copy of the聽听丑别谤别.

The newly released , produced by the 成人VR视频 Legal Executive Institute and the , uses the 鈥淔osbury Flop鈥� as an analogy for the fundamental shift in the legal market that is well underway. Jim Jones, Senior Fellow from the Georgetown Center and the report鈥檚 lead author, argues that law firms and other stakeholders in the legal industry would do well to learn from the example of how the 鈥渇lop鈥� revolutionized the sport of high jumping.

Prior to 1968, all competitors in high jumping used one particular technique that was considered the standard. When Dick Fosbury set a new Olympic record with his unconventional 鈥渇lop鈥� method, however, people began to take notice even as they considered his success an outlier. Yet eight short years later, all three medalists at the 1976 Olympics had adopted Fosbury鈥檚 new style. In a very short time, the aberration had become the standard.

For a complete discussion of the current state of the legal market, as well as exploration of how some firms are choosing to adapt, you can download a copy of the here.

In today鈥檚 legal market, we are seeing a variety of new and different practice models, but collectively they all point to a fundamental shift in the foundations of the legal market. While the market has stabilized over the past decade to produce respectable, though unremarkable, performance for most law firms, there is also mounting evidence that clients, alternative legal service providers (ALSPs), and even many law firms are now operating under a different set of assumptions about how legal services can and should be delivered, consumed and paid for.

The report does not suggest that law firms are on imminently shaking footing. On the contrary, key performance metrics for law firms in 2019 showed incremental improvements for most firms compared to 2018. Demand, worked rates, and attorney headcount all increased compared to the previous year. In fact, noteworthy growth in worked rates (simply the rates that a firm agrees to with particular clients for work on given matters), combined with positive demand performance contributed to average revenue growth of 5.4% for the average law firm in the market.

Growth in Key Practice Areas

Key practice areas like litigation, corporate transactional practices, and labor and employment 鈥� a combined 64% of total billable practice hours tracked by 鈥� all showed positive growth through November 2019, the latest month of data available prior to the report鈥檚 publication. For example, corporate practices and labor and employment grew by 1.4% and 1.6%, respectively.

These practices also saw strong growth in worked rates, with litigation rates growing by 3.9%, corporate rates by 3.8%, and labor and employment rates growing by 3.3%. Among these, only labor and employment lagged behind the market average worked rate growth for all practices of 3.8%.

Rate growth was strong across the various segments of the legal market as well. Among Am Law 100 firms tracked by Peer Monitor, 65% of firms managed worked rate growth in excess of 4% year-over-year. For Am Law Second Hundred firms, 37% percent managed rate growth above 4%, as did 39% of Midsize law firms.

Despite stronger than normal rate growth, realizations against those increased rates did not suffer. Law firms were collecting an average of 89.3% of their worked rates, a pace on par with, if not slightly ahead of other years in the latter half of the decade.

However, law firms would be wise to take these positive findings with a hint of caution. Clients are increasingly exercising their strength to dictate who performs those services and how they are delivered. Indeed, the report points to recent changes from clients, such as i) the growth of legal operations professionals in managing outside counsel relationships; ii) increased use of competitive procurement practices for most major matters; and iii) additional requirements for staffing, billing, expenses, and project management for matters.

The report notes 鈥渨idespread disaggregation of services as clients have increasingly opted to create virtual teams鈥� comprising outside counsel, legal staffing firms, accountants, and third-party project managers to handle particular projects. The rapid growth of ALSPs, such as the Big Four consulting firms and other non-law firm service providers, is also becoming a major disruptor of the traditional law firm model.

Finally, the report also highlights examples of several law firms taking innovative approaches to competing in this changing environment. From major Am Law 100 firms to more modest Midsize competitors, numerous models are discussed that clearly demonstrate how law firms are leveraging everything from new technology to multi-disciplinary professionals to change how they deliver legal services to their clients.