THE NLJ 250

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THE NLJ 250

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• Publié par: uhezyxuk
• Nombre de lectures: 76
• Langue: Français

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  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 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 NLJ 250 The National Law Journal April 25, 2011       The NLJ 250, The National Law Journal 's 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.    Editor's note   Revised 2010 figures show that NLJ 250 firms employed 2,868 fewer lawyers than in 2009. Expand that view to 2008, and the headcount drain is a rounding error away from 10,000 attorneys.    THE CHARTS      THE 2011 NLJ 250   The full list of firms, broken out by headcount of total partners, nonequity partners, associates, and other attorneys.    NLJ 250 Poster   Download the PDF version of the NLJ 250.    Branch Offices   Domestic and international offices and headcounts.    Gains & Losses   Firms with the biggest gains and steepest declines in attorney count.    Largest U.S. Law Offices   Firms reported 37 U.S. offices with more than 300 lawyers.

 

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   Infographic: Big Law USA   A map of 21 U.S. cities with the highest number of lawyers. Plus, a global view of the NLJ 250 firms' international offices.    FIRM FOCUS      The Ohio Players    Roetzel & Andress reigns supreme in the one-time "Rubber Capital of the World. " But the firm has discovered life outside Akron — and it likes it.    Golden State Warriors    Despite the recession and a municipal client's corruption scandal, Riverside, Calif.'s Best Best & Krieger is growing again.    The New Blood   Eight firms are new to the NLJ 250 this year. What factors are driving their growth?    METHODOLOGY   Although most of the charts are self-explanatory, we've provided some information about the process, criteria and definitions. The lawyer totals are based on the average number of full-time equivalent attorneys for the period Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2010. The NLJ sent surveys to about 300 law firms to determine the 250 largest. Lawyer counts do not include contract or temporary attorneys. A firm must have more lawyers based in the United States than in any other single country to be included on the list. Firms are ranked by the number of full-time equivalent attorneys, rather than headcount. Numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number. In case of a tie, we rank firms by the actual number of attorneys before rounding. If the tie persists, we rank firms by the total number of partners, and then the number of equity partners. The city listed next to the fir ame is the firm's principal or largest office   m n .     The NLJ 250: Editor's Note The National Law Journal April 25, 2011 "And another hundred people just got off of the train." That's a line from Stephen Sondheim's Company and it seems somehow appropriate as we consider this year's NLJ 250: The biggest law firms in America are the train in this scenario, and they continued to off-load attorneys at a blazing clip in 2009. Revised 2010 figures show that NLJ 250 firms employed 2,868 fewer lawyers than in 2009. Expand that view to 2008, and the headcount drain is a rounding error away from 10,000 attorneys. In the 34 years The National Law Journal has been surveying large firms to gather headcount numbers, there have never been multiyear declines of this magnitude. Overall, 140 firms reported lower headcounts last year; three firms reported no changes; and 107 added lawyers. But the players who are hiring aren't exactly setting hiring records. On average, firms that grew added 14 lawyers each. Flat was the order of the day. Grim as the numbers be, let's consider the following: Despite the cuts, the number of lawyers working at the 250 largest firms in America is still higher than it was in 2006 and not far from where it was in 2007 (i.e., the two years before the recession). And though the decreases are steep by big firm standards, the cuts still represent less than 10% of the attorney workforce among NLJ 250 firms. It's not exactly happy news for the lawyers who've departed Big Law, but it's worth remembering that firms reached record sizes in the two years prior to the recession.

 

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