Lateral Link’s Post

The trend towards higher billing rates continues! According to a new survey from the National Association of Legal Fee Analysis, D.C. emerged as the top city for litigation billing rates in 2023, with a notable 25% of respondents reporting hourly rates surpassing $951, the highest among 24 tracked cities. Major law firms' presence in the region was highlighted as a key contributing factor to these high billing rates. Over 2,000 D.C. attorneys participated in the survey, revealing that a quarter fell within the top billing tier, ranging from $951 to over $1,300. The survey results pointed towards a positive year-end financial performance for D.C. firms, with an average billing rate increase of 8.8%, outpacing the industry average. This growth was fueled by heightened demand in litigation and regulatory practices. Looking ahead, billing rate hikes are expected to continue, with 86% of large firms in the U.S. and U.K. anticipating rate increases in the coming year, reflecting an ongoing trend towards higher billing rates across the legal sector. https://lnkd.in/g6WTGn5Z

One of my favorite New Orleans firms is looking for an associate with at least 5 years of insurance defense experience. They pay well and have a positive workplace culture. 📍 New Orleans, Louisiana 💵 $130,000+ 👔 5 or more years of litigation experience (insurance defense preferred) 🚘 Practice area is insurance defense If you are open to new opportunities and have 5 or more years of insurance defense experience, please reach out to me at cberger@laterallink.com. #legalcareers #legaljobs #legalrecruitment

Chicago continues to be a top destination for AmLaw Firms, attracting the second-highest number of top 200 firm entrants last year. So it's no surprise that Alston & Bird has come to play, given its clientele in Chicago and the surrounding area. But it's a competitive market, to be sure, and having strong ties to the region is key to a firm's success. #ChicagoLegalMarket #AmLawFirms #BigLaw #LateralLink

I am working with a prestigious litigation boutique in Los Angeles made up of former Big Law attorneys. The firm is looking to bring on an Associate with 4+ years of substantive litigation experience specifically in the area of Prop 65. The ideal candidate will be able to routinely handle court appearances and a large volume of matters that includes frequent independent interactions with opposing counsel. This is a unique opportunity to work on a large book of business representing one of the firm's largest clients. The attorneys at this firm represent a wide range of public and private companies. The culture is relatively easy-going with a billable hours target of 1800 – a number that nobody exceeds. Most of the firm’s attorneys have been with the firm their entire career. The firm offers life-changing mentorship and the chance to set your career on a fast-track. If you are interested, please reach out to me directly: lsmith@laterallink.com.

Here is a Bloomberg Law article, nicely written by Meghan Tribe, that I was quoted in from a few days ago. I do think that the mostly very small office closures recently in Greater China are being overemphasized a bit when predicting the industry's long-term future in the region. It's certainly a time of transition for Big Law in Greater China, and there will be at least a few years more of continued rocky seas ahead most likely. However, most of the mainland China office closures nowadays were actually on the brink of closing for many years prior, even during the boom times, for various reasons. The most common reason is not enough productive partners permanently based in Beijing or Shanghai to keep the office viable, even at firms that have a number of strong China practice partners based in Hong Kong. This problem has been exacerbated by some China based partners relocating during Covid lockdowns and subsequently not returning. On another note, a few firms are pulling out of Greater China all together, but such departures have been happening every now and then for 20 years, and it's not much different now. It's been a very difficult few years in Big Law in Greater China and more turbulent times are ahead, but there will eventually be a rebound and most well established US and UK law firms in Greater China will remain invested in the region for the long-term, even if they may have recently closed a small office run by one or two partners who had pretty much relocated already. Just my thoughts.... Lateral Link #asia #biglaw #china #hongkong #officeclosures