Ever since global economies began their tentative recovery from the financial crisis, the legal industry has debated what form the market might take once things finally settle.

The good news is that the so-called New Normal is probably already here. The bad news is that it's characterized by a stifling mixture of flattening growth, widespread uncertainty, intense competition and severe pricing pressure from clients.

Credit: ALM

If anything, this year's Global 100 survey suggests that conditions for the world's largest law firms are getting even more challenging. Total Global 100 revenue rose just 2.8 percent in 2016, to $99.3 billion—the lowest annual gain since the recession and the second consecutive year of slowing growth. (Group revenue is still likely to pass $100 billion next year for the first time ever, however, requiring an increase of just 0.7 percent to hit that milestone.)