Younger CEOs/GCs are underwhelmed with the BigLaw model
September 02, 2015
This is an interesting insight into the issues facing BigLaw and one I’d not thought through before. The age gap between the “CEO in a hoodie” and law firm leaders is telling, as is the analysis of the structural problems in BigLaw leading to reasons why that is occurring.
For about a century, it worked extremely well, as US law firms steadily grew with their clients. Each unit of economic growth produced some larger unit increase in legal complexity, so demand for sophisticated legal services was a steady upward sloping line. By following a simple model — hire more associates, promote some to partners, lease more office space, and repeat — equity partners in the AmLaw 100 became millionaires.
Today, BigLaw is getting grayer because the 100-year old gold factory is breaking down. Law firms’ portion of corporate legal spending is no longer growing, as in-house lawyers, NewLaw managed services shops (United Lex, Axiom, Counsel on Call), and technology are all curbing demand for traditional law firm services. The best economic play for 55- or 60-year old equity partner is to ride out the existing model
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legalwhiteboard/2015/09/agin..
Back to Expertise
