Leopard Solutions Analyzes Legal Industry Trends, Emphasizing the Need for Proactive Strategies to Seize Opportunities for 2024

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Providing In-depth Insights for Legal Industry Leaders to Navigate Challenges and Drive Strategic Growth

NEW YORK, March 7, 2024 – Leopard Solutions, a leading legal intelligence provider, has released its annual comprehensive white paper analyzing the 2023 State of The Legal Industry, dubbing it “The Year of Reaction.” The report highlights law firms’ challenges and shifts in hiring, practice areas, and partnership trends. It offers invaluable information for legal industry leaders to proactively refine their business development, competitive intelligence, recruiting, and marketing strategies for 2024.

In the tumultuous landscape of 2023, law firms found themselves reacting to seismic events, foregoing proactive goal pursuit. The aftermath of the 2021 hiring super cycle necessitated increased layoffs, staffing corrections, and cooling of overheated practice areas. High-profile partner retirements, escalating salaries amidst market volatility, and a notable shift in entry-level hiring at Am Law 200 firms further shaped the legal landscape.

Amidst market uncertainties, midsize firms strategically adopted alternate fee arrangements. They fortified their positions in countercyclical practices such as Litigation, Bankruptcy, and Labor and Employment. This strategic shift enhanced competitiveness, rendering their attorneys more appealing to the Top 200 firms and resulting in increased lateral movement.

While the path to partnership showed improvement with decreased time requirements, firms grappled with tracking costs linked to attorney exits. The report underscores the importance of considering financial commitments and person-hours invested in talent development and retention, cautioning against the negative impact of churn on the bottom line.

Leopard Solutions is optimistic about the trend toward firms’ rightsizing,’ noting a reversal of a six-year trend where entry-level hiring at Am Law 200 firms surpassed lateral hiring. This shift is seen as a positive development for law graduates entering the workforce, burdened by law school debt.

In a year characterized by market correction, the litigation practice area stood out with a robust 17% increase in job openings. Despite uneven growth in demand across other practice areas, Litigation demonstrated resilience, reinforcing its downturn-proof nature.

Key Discoveries:

• In 2023, new entry-level hiring surpasses lateral hiring for the first time.
• Litigation witnessed remarkable growth, leading to a 17% surge in job openings.
• The hiring gap widened for ethnically diverse laterals and entry-level positions, rising by 5% for laterals and 3% for entry levels.
• California emerged as the state with the highest number of new office openings, while Dallas claimed the title of the most popular city.

As the legal industry confronts a complex macroeconomic landscape with global conflicts and inflation, Leopard Solutions anticipates a continued focus on reactive strategies.

“In 2023, the top 200 firms prioritized entry-level hiring, surpassing lateral hires for the first time in several years, a promising sign for long-term growth,” said Laura Leopard, Founder and CEO of Leopard Solutions, emphasizing the need for the legal industry to adapt to evolving dynamics, facilitating informed decision-making amidst market corrections and uncertainties.

The white paper is a comprehensive annual report that has consistently informed legal professionals with market intelligence, offering enhanced analytics to comprehend the current hiring, promotion, and business landscape in alignment with market trends. For a more detailed overview of Leopard Solutions’ 2023 State of the Legal Industry Report, please click here.

About Leopard Solutions
Leopard Solutions delivers the highest quality, most accurate, and in-depth information on the legal market, leading law firms and attorneys with easily searchable products.

From business development solutions to competitive intelligence, lateral recruitment, and our curated and customizable market research reports, Leopard Solutions offers a wide range of data solutions for law firms and legal departments. Leopard’s data and technology are continuously updated to ensure market relevance and competitive edge.

Leopard Law Firm Index (LLFI) is a real-time ranking system that evaluates firm health based on the firm’s profitability, viability, growth, and opportunities using quantitative data and size-adjusted numeric weighting.

We are a proud WBE organization that has grown into one of the most recognized and trusted legal market data providers in the United States. Leopard Solutions’ high level of quality and depth is unmatched in the industry. For more information, visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn.