Wake Up Call: Profits Fall Again as Demand, Expenses Take Toll

In today’s column, Colorado could become the next state to let nonlawyers practice in limited areas of law; Houston powerhouse Vinson & Elkins is battling global giant Kirkland & Ellis for supremacy in Texas; and Eversheds Sutherland is opening an office in Frankfurt, Germany.

• Leading off, law firms’ average profits per equity partner fell 3.6% in 2022’s second quarter—the second straight quarter of decline—as demand shrank and expenses soared, a new report from Thomson Reuters says. The report cites inflation, competition for talent, office returns, and a slowdown in corporate and M&A work as causes for the decrease. (Reuters ...