The past several years have been a roller coaster ride for Biglaw. First came the ups and many, many downs of COVID in 2020, followed by 2021’s “post”-COVID land of riches, including raises for associates coupled with a booming lateral market. Then came 2022, a time when law firms were coming off the highs of the year that was and realizing that what goes up — in this case, their revenue — was likely going to come down thanks to geopolitical turmoil, inflation, a possible recession, and ever-rising interest rates.
Today, the American Lawyer released its Am Law 100 law firm rankings — a closely watched list of the elite, prestigious, and highly influential law firms that represent the very best of what the legal profession has to offer. The highlights from the report reveal a mixed bag for the top Biglaw firms in the nation, with more than half of them seeing revenue percentage declines (59 firms in all). Compare this to 2021, when every single firm on the Am Law 100 had an increase in gross revenue over 2020. Read More