How Were Small And Mid-Sized Firms Hit By The Recession?

An upcoming study of small and mid-sized law firms will demonstrate how the recession has affected their response to the ever-present recession. The study, coming from the National Law Journal, shows that law firms have cut costs by cutting lawyers and law firm staff.

David Brown, editor and chief of The National Law Journal, said, “This year’s Survey of Law Firm Economics shows just how deeply the recession has affected smaller and midsized law firms around the country. For the first time ever, we’re seeing year-over-year declines in revenue per lawyer, expenses per lawyer, and compensation for senior partners.”

The actual numbers show that the revenue per lawyer in 2009 fell .2 percent; the averaged billable hours for senior partners fell 1.7 percent as did the median total compensation for senior partners.