Ride the Lightning

Cybersecurity and Future of Law Practice Blog
by Sharon D. Nelson Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.

2017 Altman Weil Survey: Lawyers Chronically Underperforming and Partners Slow to Change

June 5, 2017

The 2017 Altman Weil Survey is out. Conducted in March and April 2017, the Law Firms in Transition Survey polled Managing Partners and Chairs at 798 U.S. law firms with 50 or more lawyers. Completed surveys were received from 386 firms, including 50% of the 350 largest US law firms and 50% of the Am Law 200.

The results for the last two years have been pretty bleak – and, sadly – they are bleak once again. The survey details a legal market characterized by an erosion of demand for law firm services, increasing price competition, a need for greater efficiency in service delivery, new kinds of competitors and the ongoing force of technology innovation.

Highlights from the 2017 survey include:

  • Chronic under-performance: 88% of firms say they have chronically under-performing lawyers. Equity partners are not sufficiently busy in 52% of firms, and non-equity partners aren't busy enough in 61% of firms. Overcapacity is diluting profitability in 61% of law firms.
  • Only 30% of law firms routinely link discounted, capped and alternative fees to changes in how work is staffed and delivered – displaying a critical misunderstanding of the interdependence of the elements of their business model which include scope, staffing, price, work flows, project management and margin.
  • 50% of law firms report they are actively engaged in experiments to test innovative ideas and methods. These initiatives run the gamut from technology and data analytics to new business ventures, efficiency, pricing and staffing improvements, and efforts aimed directly at client engagement and retention.
  • 65% of law firm leaders say their partners resist most change efforts, and 56% say most partners are unaware of what they might do differently. This reluctance to change is an intractable problem in many law firms.

The last part comes as no real surprise – but if firms can't get buy-in from their partners, they are traveling on a fast path to extinction.

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