Law Firm Consultant: 'I've Never Seen It This Bad'
Last year, as the economy began to plummet, many law firms saw bankruptcy as a hot practice area that would counterbalance a sudden shortage of corporate work. Now, some are thinking about filing themselves.
“I have never seen it this bad,” legal consultant Bill Brennan of Altman Weil tells the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Demand has been slow. Essentially the spigot of work has turned off, and law firms are working down their current inventory.”
One top rainmaker recently told him that he had billed a total of three hours in a month.
Although the economy will recover at some point, getting to that point is going to be painful for some law firms. And, for those worried about staying in the black, long-term planning is now an unaffordable luxury, he says. These law firms need to focus on the short and medium term, and make the cuts needed to stay in business.
