More Year-End Numbers

The National Law Journal released the results of their 2009 census of the largest 250 law firms, and the numbers are predictably gloomy.

A few of the lowlights:

The number of employed attorneys at these top 250 firms plunged by more than 5,200. That's a 4% decline.

This is only the third year since the NLJ started tracking in 1978 that saw a decline. 1992 saw a 1% decline, and 1993 dropped 0.9%.

Of the top 75 firms, 15 had reductions of more than 100 lawyers.

The number of associate attorneys dropped by almost 9%.

Many firms declined to near or below where their numbers were five years ago.

113 firms reported deferring nearly 2,800 new associates.

Interestingly, the number of partners increased by .9%. Of the top 50 firms, 30 reported an increase in partners.

A consultant with Altman Weil, Ward Bower, concludes that "the cuts made were done primarily to preserve workloads for partners." Which means that clients can only conclude that work currently being done by partners is work that would have previously been executed by associates. And that is exactly what clients have been trying to avoid.

The National Law Journal has a number of accompanying features, analysis, and breakdowns.