#law-firm-economics

#law-firm-economics

The U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement in the lawsuit filed last April by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union and the American Library Association, agreeing to leave IMLS intact and allowing it to continue its work supporting libraries and museums across the country.

Renée's leadership extends well beyond operations. While I focus on external-facing initiatives such as content, programs, and strategic vision, she oversees the core business functions of the company, including finance and HR, and is instrumental in driving our growth.

According to Bloomberg Law's Workload & Hours Survey, a third of nonequity partners also say they're undervalued in their roles and more than half say they were burnt out in 2025.

The ruling closes a tax 'loophole' that could have cost the government billions of dollars as more employers adopt hybrid work models, with employees working partly or fully from home.

Lucie Allen will become a co-CEO of Barbri, a leading bar exam prep company, and will share leadership duties with Steve Fredette, the current CEO and chairman.

Keith Redenbach, the principal of Redenbach Legal, billed the Broken Hill city council $10 million after representing them in a dispute, including 34.5 hours in one day.

Leaving Wachtell wasn't an easy decision - it's one of the great law firms in the world, and I learned an enormous amount there. But it wasn't about leaving something behind; it was about being intentional about what came next.

This may be the last year that law firms can expect billing rate increases to drive financial stability, according to a new survey of more than 800 senior finance and legal professionals in large firms across North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Technology company BigHand's 2026 finance report suggests that firms can no longer rely on traditional measures of profitability, as clients are demanding more efficiency and predictability amid the increased adoption of artificial intelligence across the legal profession, according to Law.com.

For the first time in three years, more law firms are planning to expand their office footprint, rather than contract, according to a new report from commercial real estate brokerage CBRE.

Market forces such as rising attorney salaries, persistent inflation, and unrelenting demand in premium practices are giving firms the confidence to push hourly rates beyond historical norms.

Leading legal departments are shifting from reactive negotiation to proactive pricing design, setting guardrails before rates are proposed rather than responding after the fact. This approach enables departments to establish parameters and expectations upfront, fundamentally changing the negotiation dynamic and improving outcomes.

From law firms to in-house legal teams, the rules of value are being rewritten. The question is: Who's ready to lead the change? In the first episode of 2026 for the UpLevel View podcast, Stephanie Corey and Ken Callander sit down with Rita Gunther McGrath, Columbia Business School professor and Wall Street Journal columnist, to talk about how AI is forcing professional services to price outcomes instead of hours.

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