We regularly post information about reports on the financial condition of the legal market. The latest comes from Citi Private Bank and is reported in the Am Law Daily. It deals with results from the first half of 2013 and the news is not great.
There was a bit of revenue growth during this period (0.5 percent), however growth in expenses exceeded that. Moreover, the growth is not attributable to any increase in a demand for legal services (which declined 1.3 percent). Rather it’s due to an increase in rates (3.7 percent).
Head count also grew during this period (0.4 percent in Q 2 and 0.5 percent in Q 1). Based on their survey of information from 172 firms, Citi predicts that 2013 will be a flat year. The 172 firms consisted of 81 Am Law 100 firms, 45 Second Hundred firms, and 46 additional firms.