Our latest annual survey of the biggest U.S. firms by headcount, shows that, on the whole, large firms added attorneys again last year. But the increases weren’t universal. In fact, 109 firms recorded declines in headcount this year.
The growth wasn’t evenly distributed among types of lawyers, either. The number of nonequity partners spiked by nearly 8 percent. Equity partner ranks, on the other hand, declined 1.6 percent. Firms, it seems, were willing to increase overhead (presumably to handle more work and retain veterans), but not so inclined to open the profit pool to more players. Continue reading editor-in-chief David Brown’s note to readers.
