Incisive’s? 2009 Survey of Law Firm Economics has revealed, according to their press release, that participating U.S. law firms in the survey saw drops in virtually all key financial performance metrics last year.
They assert that while average hourly billing rates for equity partners reached $332, an increase of less than one percent over the prior year, the hours billed by the average partner decreased by two percent to $1,681.
Average revenues per lawyer reported by participating firms were $413,086, representing a decrease of 4% from the prior year.
The study also reports on annual financial performance; compensation; billing rates and hours; and other data, related primarily to small and mid-sized law firms (2 ? 150 lawyers) in FY 2008.
More than 190 law firms employing more than 12,000 lawyers participated in the survey, which has been conducted since 1972. For further information link through to www.incisivesurveys.com
Among the survey?s other findings:
- The average equity partner earned $352,569 in 2008 compared to $374,049 in 2007, a decrease of 5.7%.
- Overhead expenses decreased by 1.8 percent from the prior year to $167,256 per lawyer.
- It takes the average law firm 4.6 months to receive payment after doing billable work for a client.
- The average billing rate for associates was $213 per hour, a decrease of 3.2% from last year?s survey results.
“The Survey of Law Firm Economics is a unique resource for law firms seeking to compare their operational and financial performance on multiple levels, against comparable firms in size, geography and practice specialty,? says Kevin Iredell, vice president, legal business solutions at ALM. ?For 37 years, a wide variety of firms have relied on the Survey as a primary tool for performance analysis and benchmarking.”
