When Billable Hours Are Scarce, Partners Get to Work First

Welcome back to the Big Law Business column on the changing legal marketplace written by me, Roy Strom. This week, we look at why partners rush in to bill time when the economy takes a hit. Sign up to receive this column in your inbox on Thursday mornings.

A lot about the Big Law marketplace seems to run contrary to basic business principles.

Law firms do not benefit from economies of scale. The market consistently rewards the highest-priced service providers. And despite many firms seeing uninterrupted profit growth for nearly a decade, more than 40% of partners have said ...