As we bid farewell to another dynamic year in the legal industry, I’ve compiled a “Legal 2023 Wrapped” including everything from headcount increase to the most profitable firms and everything in between.
Highest grossing firms:
- Kirkland & Ellis - $6.514bn
- Latham & Watkins - $5.321bn
- DLA Piper - $3.685bn
- Baker McKenzie - $3.3bn
- Dentons - $3.1bn
Biggest % increases in headcount (US):
- Latham & Watkins (+8%)
- Kirkland & Ellis (+5%)
- Skadden, Gibson Dunn (+4%)
- DLA Piper, White & Case, Ropes & Gray (+2%)
Biggest % decreases in headcount (US):
- Baker McKenzie (-6%)
- Sidley Austin (-4%)
- Morgan Lewis (-1%)
- Morgan Lewis (-1%)
Note, these changes did not include firms which were part of a merger.
Firms with the most leavers (US):
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Lewis Brisbois
- Weil
- Goodwin
- Sidley Austin
- Cooley
- Paul Hastings
- Milbank
- Latham & Watkins
Top challenges facing law firms:
- Economic uncertainty - regarding the duration, depth and nature of the economy this year particularly surrounding macroeconomic factors.
- Securing the right talent - firms have continued to express concern about the professional development of junior lawyers in a post-Covid world as they work to attract the right talent and fill talent gaps.
- Talent retention - Talent attraction and retention will remain a top priority for BigLaw, however this will only become more challenging as firms double down on strong in-office mandates together with salary wars and rate hikes.
- Hybrid working - say goodby to Zoom! The introduction of 3 and 4 day mandatory in-office attendance has been growing amongst firms, with some firms doubling down on the mandate and withholding significant portions of year-end bonuses.
Practice areas with biggest % growth and decline:
- Bankruptcy (+6%)
- Litigation (+2%)
- Regulatory (+1.9%)
- Labor and Employment (+1.1%)
- IP (+1%)
- Corporate [including funds] (-1.5%)
- M&A/Private Equity (-5.2%)
- Real Estate (-4.8%)
Off the back of some tumultuous years (both good and bad), I see a bit more stability from the market over the coming months and years which is a good sign for Associates ready for that domestic or international lateral move. I've been able to make a few unprecedented moves this year despite the market across the US, UK, Australian and Cayman Islands' markets.
This will only gain traction as we look into the coming months with inflation in the US predicted to return to normal by Q4, 2024, without a recession. This will be welcome news for those in the M&A/PE, Capital Markets and funds spaces -- a hopeful green light to deal flow we've all been waiting for.
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