TIME’s Top Law Firm List
TIME have compiled a list of the top law firms in America – not a task lacking in ambition – and worked with Statista to look at the question and if anyone’s up to the task it is surely TIME?
The two paired-up to survey over 150,000 attorneys through various channels including company websites, publications, and professional networks like LinkedIn, as well as recommendations from both lawyers and clients.
150 of the leading Law Firms in the United States were awarded their ‘best’ status by the survey.
Participants were asked to recommend firms they’ve worked with (excluding their own) and share insights on the challenges facing the legal industry.
The final selection of 150 firms includes all the big law firm names like Sidley Austin, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and Debevoise & Plimpton – and members of LawFuel’s Most Prestigious Law Firm List.
To be included in the final list, law firms need a minimum number of recommendations, based both on the survey conducted and the Statista lawyer surveys undertaken, then weighted and their percentage assessed.
But it was a big law deal, as well as just a big deal.
Firms need to have a global turnover of at least $200 million and at least 100 employees in the U.S. If the total number of employees is less than 100, it is sufficient if at least 50 percent of the employees are in the U.S.
Is the U.S. facing a lawyer labor shortage? A joint study by Statista and TIME sheds light on this pressing issue, revealing that a majority of surveyed lawyers struggle to find and recruit competent talent.
What Worries Big Law Firms?
The survey uncovered a paramount concern among participants: a scarcity of skilled hires, with 54 percent of respondents expressing its potential impact on their firms.
Challenges ranged from difficulties in finding competent paralegals to the pandemic-induced setback in nurturing young legal talent, resulting in a reduction of courtroom experience.
Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated court backlogs and prolonged case processing, as noted by many respondents who highlighted the overburdened and understaffed state and federal courts.
The AI Caution Shown By Top Law Firms
Intriguingly, the survey highlighted lawyers’ cautious optimism towards the role of AI in the law profession.
While acknowledging its potential to revolutionize legal practice, most lawyers don’t foresee AI entirely replacing their roles. Instead, they view AI as a tool to streamline tedious tasks, allowing attorneys to focus on more creative and specialized matters, potentially mitigating the impact of the ongoing lawyer shortage.
As one respondent aptly put it, “AI is poised to transform the practice of law, freeing up attorneys’ time for more strategic endeavors while addressing the challenges posed by the shortage of legal professionals.”
The full list of the TIME/Statista survey can be seen here
