A new study by Wells Fargo found that the number of billable hours at the country’s top law firms dropped nearly 10% in the first half of 2023.
Researchers collected billing data from 130 U.S. firms. The data showed that each firm billed an average of 1,538 hours from January to July of this year. That is a 9.8% drop from the number of hours billed during the same months in 2021.
Despite the decline in hours billed, the law firms surveyed reported a revenue gain of 4.4%.
A Reuter’s article covering the study reported that
Law firms managed to increase revenue…despite drops in demand and productivity by hiking their billing rates…The report described those increases as “some of the highest growth in billing rates we’ve seen.”
Nevertheless, the same article reports that law firm hiring is likely to slow down in the near future and layoffs, which are on hold for now, may be likely.