NLJ Home > Special Reports
The 2011 Law Firm Billing Survey
It appears that modest annual billing rate increases are here to stay. For the third year in a row, law firms showed restraint with hourly rate increases, inching up at a rate only slightly higher than inflation in many cases.
LEGAL TIMES 150
The headcount among Washington firms continued to decline, but not as sharply as it did last year — the biggest recorded drop in 25 years. According to the Legal Times 150, our annual ranking of the Washington area's largest law offices, the number of attorneys employed at Washington firms decreased by 343 — a little more than 2.2 percent of the total market of 14,945 attorneys.
LAW SCHOOLS REVIEW
Rising tuition. Misleading employment statistics. Inadequate skills training. One law school professor has launched a full-scale assault on the legal education system in response to these mounting issues. Are law schools in crisis?
The Minority 40 Under 40
The lawyers profiled here were all born in the 1970s, a decade when law schools and law firms were just beginning to welcome minorities in significant numbers. The thriving careers of these lawyers — at law firms and in government, academia and public interest — attest to the greater opportunities available to them, as well as to their talents.
IP LAW: A SPECIAL REPORT
The sweeping patent reform law enacted last month is expected to create new classes of intellectual property winners and losers as game-changing provisions kick in during the next 18 months.
WHO REPRESENTS CORPORATE AMERICA
For this year's survey of the law firms who represent America's largest corporations, we've chosen to highlight one example of the longer-term relationships between in-house counsel and the law firms that represent them.
Small Firms, Big Companies: A Special Report
Profiles of law firms of 50 lawyers and under that represent major corporations.
THE PLAINTIFFS' HOT LIST
These 20 firms are at the cutting edge of plaintiffs' work — and are giving defense players a run for their money.
• Hare Wynn harvests big victory in rice row
• In NYSE case, Labaton created a bull market
• Whatley Drake finds healthy return in insurance fights
MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION: A SPECIAL REPORT
Taming the BP beast
Less than two years after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, more than 500 lawsuits have been filed against BP and other defendants.
• States get in on the DML action
• Chart: 511 individual claims filed in BP litigation
LAW SCHOOLS: A SPECIAL REPORT
Law schools around the country are launching solo and small firm "incubators" — programs that helps recent graduates establish solo practices while also encouraging free or low-cost legal services to underserved communities.
MIDWEST REPORT
Our survey of market conditions in Midwestern cities finds Detroit firms expanding into other regions to find business, while Chicago ranks as one of the fastest-growing legal centers in the country.
HEALTH CARE LAW: A SPECIAL REPORT
The Affordable Care Act enshrines a hope — that doctors, hospitals and other providers will team up to improve patient care and reduce costs. But there's also a fear — that doctors, hospitals and other providers will team up to stifle competition and raise prices instead.
CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING & BANKRUPTCY: A SPECIAL REPORT
From covering the debate over whether the Supreme Court's ruling in Stern v. Marshall will create inefficiency and increase delays to examining why Chapter 11 business filings are lower than many expected, this special report delves into recent trends in bankruptcy litigation.
THE 2011 MIDSIZE HOT LIST
Twenty firms in the 50- to 150-lawyer range have proven they can continue to thrive in this troubled economy.
CHAMPIONS & VISIONARIES
In this fourth annual special section, we honor Washington lawyers in two categories: Champions, those who have upheld the profession's core values through public service, pro bono efforts and advocacy for civil liberties, and Visionaries, attorneys whose business or legal acumen has expanded their firms, improved government or advanced the law.
SPECIAL REPORT
WASHINGTON'S MOST INFLUENTIAL IN-HOUSE ATTORNEYS
Some on The National Law Journal's list of 20 in-house counsel oversee huge operations. Others are joined by just a few attorneys and work mostly on regional issues. One thing each has in common: They've dedicated themselves to running efficient offices and to providing top-quality service to their clients.
WINNING
Our annual special report highlights 14 litigators whose innovative trial strategies resulted on a big win in the courtroom.
LITIGATION BOUTIQUES: A Special Report
Firms with fewer than 50 lawyers can find success as litigators by focusing on a niche practice or adopting shrewd trial tactics in a range of cases. We profile five firms that demonstrate the strength and flexibility of a smaller business model.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: A SPECIAL REPORT
From the courts to the halls of Congress, our latest special report delves deep into the latest developments in intellectual property law — including an examination of the controversial joint infringement rulings that have divided the Federal Circuit, a look at a case that could restore copyrights to foreign works and how reform legislation could shake up challenges to new patents.
WEST COAST REPORT
Law firms with the largest offices on the West Coast were back in the black for the most part during 2010, with revenues edging up slightly or remaining flat. Many managed to boost profits per partner, largely due to their reduced headcounts.
THE NLJ 250
Our annual survey of the nation's largest law firms shows that Big Law continued to shed lawyers at a brisk clip in 2010. Nearly 2,900 fewer lawyers worked for the 250 top firms last year. That's in addition to the approximately 6,600 attorneys who departed in 2009. In the 34 years the NLJ has been surveying large firms to gather headcount numbers, there have never been multiyear declines of this magnitude.
THE 2011 APPELLATE HOT LIST
Our annual Appellate Hot List recognizes firms that made exemplary contributions to appellate practice during the past year. We asked our readers to nominate firms with at least one significant appellate victory since January 2010 and that had demonstrated an impressive track record overall.
E-DISCOVERY: A SPECIAL REPORT
Until the next rules change, recent case law is the best standard for preservation obligations; state e-discovery rules are all over the map. Other topics covered in this special report include native production, proportionality, "Big Data" and concept searching.
SPECIAL REPORT
MOST INFLUENTIAL LAWYERS
The NLJ profiles 34 lawyers in 10 categories — ADR, financial capital markets, government affairs, health care, in-house lawyers at private companies, law firm leadership, media and entertainment, real estate, trusts and estates, and white-collar crime — whose work has been so consequential that it helped to push the profession or a practice area substantially forward.
The Civil War: 150 Years Later
A special report on the Civil War focusing on notable Supreme Court cases from that era — as well as a movie by Robert Redford about a conspiracy prosecution arising from the Lincoln assassination.
LEGAL AID: A SPECIAL REPORT
The Power of Hope
As Congress considers deep cuts in legal assistance to the poor, The National Law Journal presents an in-depth report examining the impact of legal aid programs on clients and the politics surrounding funding.
TOP VERDICTS OF 2010
A smoking gun was the clue that led to the largest verdict of 2010 — a $1.3 billion infringement payout for Oracle.
LAW SCHOOLS REPORT
The National Law Journal's annual survey of the law schools that NLJ 250 law firms relied on the most to fill their first-year associate classes.
Obama's diverse bench
Obama's successful nominees for district and circuit courts make up the most diverse group ever along racial, ethnic and gender lines, according to an analysis of Federal Judicial Center data.
The death knell for capital punishment?
Death penalty opponents are allowing themselves to contemplate that a major Midwestern state, not known as light on crime, is about to take a dramatic stand against the death penalty.
2011 PRO BONO AWARDS
The National Law Journal recognizes law firms that have displayed an exemplary commitment to access to justice.
2010
The Year in Review
In this special issue, we attempt to make some sense of the year that was and to offer a few thoughts about what's ahead.
2010 Law Firm Billing Survey
The National Law Journal's annual survey of billing rates found that 2010 was the second straight year of growth rates less than 3 percent, a fraction of the rates of the mid-2000s.
Legal Times 150
Washington firms have shed lawyers at a nearly unprecedented clip. Our annual ranking of the largest law offices in the nation's capital reports a 4.5% reduction in headcount — the biggest drop in 25 years.
2010
The NLJ 250
The National Law Journal's annual ranking of the nation's largest law firms.
Special Report: Diversity
Opportunities for disabled attorneys are increasing both through advances in technology and changing attitudes toward the rights and abilities of those with handicaps. In this special report, The National Law Journal profiles disabled attorneys forging successful careers at large law firms, on the bench, as solo practitioners and at one of the nation's most prestigious law schools.
2010
THE PLAINTIFFS' HOT LIST
The fallout from the financial system collapse features prominently in this year's edition of our annual spotlight on firms who've done exemplary, cutting-edge work on the plaintiffs' side.
Special Report: Multidistrict Litigation
The multidistrict litigation caseload has more than doubled since 2001. In this special report, we examine the impact of the mounting number of MDLs, including cases related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and defective Toyota vehicles.
WHO REPRESENTS CORPORATE AMERICA
Our annual survey lists the law firms for Fortune 100 companies in five categories: corporate, contracts litigation, labor litigation, torts litigation and intellectual property. Plus, in-house counsel say they are collaborating more with law firms on fee arrangements; 17-lawyer Potter Minton of Tyler, Texas, is a go-to firm for major corporations seeking patent defense work in the plaintiff-friendly Eastern District of Texas; and Microsoft Corp. looks to some niche boutique law firms for specialty work.
SURVEY OF LAW FIRM ECONOMICS
How small and midsize firms weathered the storm
This year, for the first time, the NLJ has partnered with ALM Legal Intelligence to bring readers results from The Survey of Law Firm Economics. Taken by 187 firms — most with fewer than 150 attorneys — the survey provides a rare glimpse into the financial health of firms outside the Am Law 200 and the NLJ 250. How did those firms fare? Although their revenues remained flat during 2009, cuts in expenses helped some firms eke out small increases in profits.
Here Comes the Brawl
A special report on the legal fight over same-sex marriage.
MIDWEST REPORT
SUPREME COURT REVIEW
Trying to wipe away the precedent
The fastest and most successful reaction by Congress to a U.S. Supreme Court decision last term was not a legislative response to the very controversial Citizens United campaign finance ruling. And it wasn't an attempt to salvage a widely supported animal-crush video ban. No, the winner was: "foreign-cubed" securities class actions.
Trouble on the Left
Elena Kagan's brief record as solicitor general is likely to attract much more attention soon, if she remains the seeming frontrunner on the changeable list of potential nominees to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens. Plus, a chart of other likely candidates.
THE 2010 MIDSIZE HOT LIST
This year's Midsize Hot List shows the agility of law firms with 50 to 150 attorneys in ducking the recession's blows — or at least bouncing back more quickly than many big-firm competitors.
Washington's Most Influential Women Lawyers
In a profession still dominated by men, these power players have taken a sledgehammer to the glass ceiling to grab their place among the elite of the Washington bar.
LITIGATION BOUTIQUES
A certain type of law firm showed remarkable strength during the recession: the boutique. We profile five firms that have thrived by identifying strong niche practices.
Suing Toyota
Dozens of lawsuits against Toyota Motor Corp. claiming unintended acceleration of its vehicles are moving along in state courts. Discovery in these cases could help plaintiffs' counsel in the federal multidistrict litigation.
2010
THE INFLUENCE 50
Our annual special report on Washington lobbying.
The Decade's Most Influential Lawyers
Forty attorneys who have defined the decade in a dozen key legal areas.
TOP VERDICTS OF 2009
Anyone who hoped that commercial litigation might help law firms weather the recession was surely disappointed last year, according to VerdictSearch's Top 100 Verdicts of 2009. Commercial verdicts fell from $1.4 billion in 2008 to $421 million last year. Fraud recoveries plummeted by nearly 70% to $561.3 million. Intellectual property litigation saw an increase — from $2.2 billion to $2.6 billion. But that picture was distorted by a single massive recovery: Centocor Ortho Biotech's $1.67 billion verdict against Abbott Labs.
SPECIAL REPORT: FOOD & DRUG LAW
Biologics are the fastest-growing class of medicines, with more than $40 billion in annual sales in the U.S. But they're expensive, and the FDA has no authority to approve lower-cost, generic versions. That will change if the health care bill is signed into law.
LAW SCHOOLS REPORT
The NLJ's annual Go-To Law School List paints a pretty sorry picture of first-year associate employment at the nation's 250 largest law firms last year. The No. 1 law school saw a 20% drop in the number of its 2009 graduates hired by NLJ 250 law firms.
Spotlight on Laterals
Four legal business power players discuss the current market for lateral partners. Their verdict: It may be the most active period of movement in recent memory. Plus, a look at lateral numbers in 2009 at the nation's largest law frms and in regional legal markets.
REGULATORY REPORT
Rule Reversal
A year into office, Obama's lived up to his promise at some agencies and not made much progress at others.
NLJ PRO BONO AWARDS
Every year at this time, The NLJ bestows its Pro Bono Awards on lawyers doing exemplary work upholding the principle that justice shouldn't be contingent on one's ability to pay. We looked for firms that contributed substantial time and money to the cause and gave bonus points if the lawyers risked opprobrium by standing up for unpopular people and causes. After sifting through dozens of top-notch entries, here are the firms honored this year.
The Decade's Biggest Stories
From the war on terrorism to corporate fraud to Bush v. Gore, it was a decade of high-stakes legal battles. Nor was the legal profession spared, as it weathered boom and bust, rapid technological changes and globalization. A look at these, plus 18 additional developments of the past 10 years.
2009 Law Firm Billing Survey
It took a global economic meltdown and a major upheaval of the legal industry, but law firms seemed to get the message that 2009 was not the year to substantially increase their billing rates. While most firms did raise their rates, the average increase was a modest 2.5% during 2009 — one of the lowest increases in recent memory.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
Debate over Web piracy act goes viral
Opponents predict end of a free Internet; supporters say that's a huge exaggeration.
ANTITRUST
DOJ's suit against AT&T: rhetoric v. reality
From a traditional antitrust analysis, it would be hard to see how the government can lose this one in court.
WHITE-COLLAR CRIME
Taking a stand on taking the stand
The decision about whether a defendant testifies should be exceptionally nuanced; ramifications are hard to judge.
