Image [cc] Allen Sheffield

As an observer of the legal pricing market, I try to keep a keen eye on the underlying, economic forces driving changes. I have previously posted on the internal forces acting on in-house counsel to save money. And recently, I am seeing a stronger emergence of another aspect of this force.

Image [cc] StockMonkeys

Some recent activity on Twitter got me thinking. People love to bag on BigLaw (me included). Much like taking shots at Microsoft or Blackberry, BigLaw is an easy target for many. Large firms move slow, are managed by committee too often, and appear to have an aversion to decision making (see how

Citi posted its Third Quarter Report recently, noting the growth in collections and the slowing of demand. Let’s tackle the headline issues first, then peel back deeper in to more interesting trends noted in the report.
Collections up with demand down means firms are emptying the money pipe faster, while less money is coming in

An unspoken, unasked question of the Howrey dissolution is: Who will be left holding the bag? It’s the old “last one out, turn off the lights” situation. Only in this scenario, the last ones out also get stuck with a very expensive light bill.
There has been of a feeding frenzy by other law firms