After
weathering
the
economic
catastrophe
brought
on
by
a
global
pandemic
and
lockdown
by
notching
record
profits,
law
firms
have
regressed
a
tad
over
the
last
couple
years,
but
those
days
look
to
be
over
with
law
firm
financial
figures
humming.
The
Thomson
Reuters
Q3
2024
Law
Firm
Financial
Index
is
out
and
the
last
quarter
couldn’t
have
turned
out
better
for
law
firms.
While
we’ve
seen
firms
turn
out
consistently
positive
quarters
for
a
while
now,
there’s
usually
a
hefty
reliance
on
increased
rates
(which
is
fair,
as
they’ve
historically
lagged
behind
inflation)
as
demand
remained
sluggish.
But
that’s
not
an
issue
this
quarter,
with
demand
up
3.6
percent.
Litigators
and
real
estate
practices
drove
that
growth
last
quarter,
with
all
practice
areas
citing
improvement
except
intellectual
property,
which
had
an
almost
imperceptible
decline.
And
with
good
economic
news
came
good
hiring
news,
with
every
segment
except
the
Am
Law
50
(who
stopped
shrinking
slightly)
upping
hiring,
but
none
more
than
the
midsized
firms.
Hiring
is
up…
and
productivity
with
it.
This
reverses
the
last
couple
years
where
hiring
growth
corresponded
with
productivity
dips.
It’s
2024,
so
obviously
there’s
an
AI
angle
to
all
of
this:
“The
continued
climb
in
law
firm
average
productivity
–
in
stark
contrast
to
previous
years
–
is
a
key
factor
boosting
law
firm
profitability,”
said
Raghu
Ramanathan,
president
of
Legal
Professionals,
Thomson
Reuters.
“Law
firms
that
not
only
invest
in
new
technology
but
also
adopt
AI
and
generative
AI
solutions
to
streamline
workflows
and
improve
the
efficiency
and
quality
of
their
work
will
be
best
positioned
to
improve
client
satisfaction
and
experience
sustained
productivity
growth.”
As
the
report
notes,
the
good
times
aren’t
likely
to
get
much
better
in
2025,
diplomatically
described
as
“latent
challenges
that
might
erupt.”
But
even
if
someone
were
to,
I
dunno,
decimate
the
construction
market
by
arresting
half
its
workforce
or
obliterate
the
manufacturing
supply
chain
by
driving
up
the
cost
of
overseas
components,
firms
appear
to
be
on
solid
footing
and
“not
looking
to
experience
the
overheating
and
corresponding
two-year
hangover
which
beset
them
after
2021.”
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
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if
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