Legal Marketing

Hiring trends for new attorneys

The Graduates
For the class of 2004, economic uncertainty has meant a much tougher path to a first job
Christine Hines, Legal Times, 04-14-2004
"Because of the dot-com crash and the further erosion of the economy caused by the terrorist attacks of 2001, landing a job for graduates ... has not been the sure thing it seemed when they first entered school three years ago, when firms were hiring record numbers of new associates at astronomical salaries."
Full-text of article is on www.law.com

Vendor Awards

Law Technology News announces its first annual technology awards honoring “both products and legal technology leaders.” Law Technology News, March 2004, p. 30-33.
You can also find the list of winners and other information on their website.
By the way, I highly recommend Law Technology News for anyone in this industry. If you don't already subscribe to it, you should.

The Lateral Report 2004

The Lateral Report 2004
The American Lawyer, 3/1/2004
The American Lawyer's lateral report is the annual survey ranking the Am Law 200 firms that gained and lost the most lateral partners over the last 12 months. Read on to find out who's growing, who's shrinking, and what lateral numbers can mean to a firm's bottom line.
Short article
Related charts:
Arrivals: Lateral Partner Hires
Departures: Partners Moving On
Star Laterals of the Year

Corporate Practices

The 2004 Corporate Scorecard
The American Lawyer's annual ranking of top transactional practices.
Jim Schroeder, The American Lawyer, 04-01-2004
Full text article
Related chart: Top Corporate Practices in 2003
Compare with last year’s survey:
Corporate Scorecard: Top Practices in 2002
Jim Schroeder, The American Lawyer, 04-01-2003

More on Outsourcing to India

US Firms Face Challenge Over Outsourcing Legal Work to India:
The full-text article is in the New York Times:
Job Market | March 14, 2004, Sunday
Corporate America Sending More Legal Work to Bombay
By Ellen L. Rosen (NYT) 1194 words
Late Edition - Final, Section 10 , Page 1 , Column 4
Short summary of article is at: New York Lawyer, March 15, 2004
For the full-text article, see one of the commercial databases or go to your local library.

Salaries & Billing - Texas

Texas Salaries & Billing: Steady as She Goes: State's salaries, billing rates reflect modest increases
Texas Lawyer, 05-01-2003, by Lisa M. Whitley
For the second year in a row, salaries at Texas firms increased by very little on average. This year, 48.9 percent of firms using alternative fee arrangements preferred flat-fee billing. Most consultants and many lawyers want to move away from billable hours, Elder says.
Full-text article has links to salary and billing charts:
• Hourly Billing Rates
• Average Hours Billed Per Week
• Administrative Services Salaries
• Legal Secretaries' Salaries
• Support Staff Salaries
• Timekeepers' Salaries

General Counsels' Salaries Survey

Survey Shows General Counsels' Pay Soared Last Year
New York Lawyer, July 24, 2003, By Eriq Gardner
Corporate Counsel
Overall, GC compensation jumped 9 percent in 2002.
Short article.
Chart.

IP Firms

Who Protects IP America?
New York Lawyer, July 29, 2003, By the staff of IP Law & Business
When it comes to IP, no firm dominates. Boutiques are disappearing; large general firms are entering the market.
Short article.
Full-text of article.
Chart.
Top IP Firms and Firms that prosecuted the best patents in 2002 (charts).

The AmLaw 200

The AmLaw Second Hundred of the country's highest-grossing law firms had a good 2002 overall. Gains in gross revenue and profits per partner are due mainly to focus and geography. Gross revenue at the Second Hundred was up an average of 5.4 percent, compared to 8.5 percent for The Am Law 100.
Short article.
Full-text of article.
The chart.