Welcome to PaLaw 2019, our 26th annual report on the legal profession in Pennsylvania.

The past few years have been interesting, as several out-of-state firms have either entered or grown in the state's major markets, a handful of legal institutions have disbanded and spawned new shops and, at least as of press time, a few of the state's largest law firms were contemplating megamergers with their Big Law brethren. All of that has resulted in a rapidly changing legal landscape in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, with some analysts predicting another recession on the horizon, the future remains uncertain, despite the fact that Pennsylvania law firms have outperformed their national counterparts across several metrics in recent years.

On the litigation front, so-called "nuclear verdicts" are on the rise across the country and Pennsylvania is no exception. With corporate defendants facing unprecedented exposure in injury cases, the job of the trial lawyer is evolving in fascinating ways on both sides of the courtroom aisle.

This edition of PaLaw contains all of the great content you've come to expect from this magazine, including the 100 Largest Law Firms and Largest Verdicts & Settlements lists, and the results of our 24th Annual Managing Partners Survey.

We hope it will prove to be a handy reference tool as you navigate the upcoming year.

As always, I want to thank the people who worked tirelessly on this project throughout the year—Kristie Rearick, our magazines and supplements editor; Brian Harris, our director of information and technology; and Temitope Fadayomi, whose contributions were invaluable during his short time with us as our spring semester intern.

And, of course, I also want to thank you, the reader, for providing us with the feedback, insights and intelligence that form the basis of everything we do.

With that in mind, please feel free to share your input on this year's edition with us so that we can continue to work toward improving the reader experience.

Zack Needles

Managing Editor