Legal Services Industry Trends

Consolidation

Technology growth and the growing global economy are creating large corporate customers who require a host of legal services. Consolidation in the legal industry has been driven by corporate customers' desire to have one law firm handle all their legal needs. In response, legal firms are growing bigger and adding expertise their clients want in new fields like antitrust and international law. Big law firms are getting bigger, mainly by hiring more specialists, and many regional firms are finding that they must expand to keep up with customer requirements. Mergers among midsized law firms have increased.

Multidisciplinary Firms

While accounting and legal services are complementary, large accounting firms have been adding attorneys to form one-stop shops for clients. Currently, accountants can advise clients on legal issues related to taxes; however, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) bars accounting firms from offering legal services to any of their audit clients. SOX also restricts multidisciplinary practice (MDP) in the US, in which lawyers partner with other professional firms, like accounting, financial planning, or healthcare consulting, to create one-stop megafirms. Many accounting-related legal firms will evolve into stand-alone firms, creating more competition.

Videoconferencing

Today, most law firms use videoconferencing internally for firmwide departmental meetings and associate training sessions. Now, lawyers and courtrooms are launching new videoconferencing systems for depositions and settlement conferences. Attorneys too far from a courthouse videoconferencing system can even use a video monitor at a local business center or copy shop.

Law Firms Making Equity Investments

The sharp rise in number of small high-tech firms that require legal work and business advice, and the large profits sometimes made when these firms go public, have prompted some legal firms to take equity positions in their clients, often taking stock instead of fees.

Shadow Juries for Litigation

Litigators increasingly use "shadow juries," individuals chosen and paid by the firm to help litigators shape their trial cases by sitting in on the trial. These juries provide instant feedback on trial performance, and require low in-house administration and only about 1 percent of trial costs in pay.

Group Legal Services

Employees spend an average of seven days away from work a year due to legal life events. Employers, who want to attract and retain employees and reduce labor costs, are driving the growth in providing group legal services to their employees.

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