What does this news mean for paralegals? I’m guessing higher required billable hours & maybe higher salaries too:
"Although law firm leaders at a recent conference publicly pooh-poohed predictions that industry profitability would stumble, in a new survey they say increasing expenses will cut into their bottom line this year.
"Lawyers can expect to be pushed for more billable hours while facing a harder struggle to make equity partner. And the ranks of associates and nonequity partners will rise much faster than any increase in equity slots, law firm leaders said.
"The first managing partner confidence index [be sure to check the comments to this post!] — a survey of more than 100 Am Law 200 firm leaders — was released this week by Citigroup Private Bank, which serves as banker to 550 law firms, including many of the nation’s largest.
[snip]
"Am Law 200 firms reported big growth last year. But while most respondents predict revenue will continue to climb, they also expect expenses — led by lawyer salaries — to do the same. More than 90 percent said lawyer salaries would be the primary rising cost this year — and that was before the recent round of associate salary raises that brought first-years up to $160,000 in New York and $145,000 most everywhere else.
[snip]
"Non-lawyer staff salaries and real estate costs are also expected to grow at a faster clip [emphasis added] than last year, [Danilo DiPietro, client head of Citigroup’s law firm group] said."