Corante

CONTRIBUTORS

Denise Howell Denise Howell
( Profile | Archive )

Dennis M. Kennedy Dennis M. Kennedy
( Profile | Archive )

Tom Mighell Tom Mighell
( Profile | Archive )

Marty Schwimmer Marty Schwimmer
( Profile | Archive )

Ernest Svenson Ernest Svenson
( Profile | Archive )

Denise Howell is a seasoned appellate and intellectual property litigator based in Los Angeles. Denise writes one of the first and most popular law-related blogs, Bag and Baggage, coined the term "blawg" and helped pioneer podcasting for lawyers. Microcontent obsessed since 2001, she is frequently quoted in the media on legal issues involving intellectual property and technology law. "Sound Policy" is Denise's show at IT Conversations, and it's also what she hopes results from the briefs she submits to court. Email Denise at dhowell@gmail.com.

Dennis Kennedy is a computer lawyer and legal technology expert based in St. Louis, Missouri. An award-winning author, a frequent speaker and a widely-read blogger, he has more than 300 publications on legal, technology and Internet topics, many of which are collected in his e-books. Dennis has been described as someone who knows almost every rock song in existence and, more importantly, how they apply to technology and law. Email Dennis at his gmail address.

Tom Mighell is Senior Counsel and Litigation Technology Support Coordinator at Cowles & Thompson in Dallas. He has published the Internet Legal Research Weekly newsletter since 2000 and blogged about the Internet and legal technology at Inter Alia since August of 2002. With Tom's singing, Ernie on guitar and Dennis' encylopedic knowledge of rock music, we may have the beginnings of a good band, if this whole blog thing doesn't work out. Email Tom at tmighell@swbell.net.

Marty Schwimmer left a partnership in the largest trademark practice in the world and founded Schwimmer Mitchell, a full-service IP micro-boutique in Westchester County, New York, where he represents owners of famous and not yet famous trademarks. He founded The Trademark Blog, the first IP law blog and the one with the most pictures. He is the first to come in and the last to leave in his firm. Email Marty at marty@schwimmerlegal.com.

Ernest Svenson practices law with a mid-sized law firm in New Orleans, specializing in business-related lawsuits. Most of his practice takes place in federal court, especially the Eastern District. He is best known for his weblog Ernie the Attorney, which he started as an experiment. Like many experiments it got out of control. Nevertheless, he continues to practice law and, occasionally, to seek enlightenment. Email Ernest at esvenson@gmail.com.
About this blog
Between Lawyers provides just-in-time group commentary on the issues raised when technology, culture and the law intersect. We take you behind the firewalls and conference room doors to show you how experienced lawyers deal with these issues and help you prepare for the new challenges we all face. For more, see our introductory post.
In the Pipeline: Don't miss Derek Lowe's excellent commentary on drug discovery and the pharma industry in general at In the Pipeline

Between Lawyers

« Welcoming the New Corante Hubs | Main | Grateful Dead Recording Policy Change Forces Revisions of Many Articles and Blog Posts »

December 1, 2005

AmLaw 200 Law Firms: We're Raising Rates in 2006

Email This Entry

Posted by Dennis M. Kennedy

Brenda Sanburg's article today on Law.com that summarizes a recent survey of the 200 largest law firms in the U.S. makes for interesting reading, especially if you've just read Ernie's post on this blog about the frighteningly high cost of litigation.

I recommend that you read the whole article and the accompanying survey results, but let me highlight two things that struck me about what Brenda described as the "upbeat" results, at least if you are not an associate, of this survey:

1. "Firm leaders still aren't spending much time getting feedback from their clients. Forty-eight percent said they had met with five or fewer of their 20 top-billing clients in the last 12 months to discuss the firm's performance. Six percent said they hadn't met with any."

2. 99% of the responding firms plan to increase billing rates for 2006. "Billing rates will continue to go up. Fifty-three percent of respondents expect to increase billing rates by 5 percent or less; 46 percent anticipate raising them by more than 5 percent."

Food for thought: the combination of these two factors in most, if not all, other businesses would be a recipe for disaster.

Of course, there's much more information to consider in the article and survey results, but I think I might have gotten your attention with the two quotes I highlighted, eh?

Comments (2) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: Practice of Law


COMMENTS

1. Amit on January 5, 2006 9:35 PM writes...

Pls Send me Top 101 to 200 law firms latest updation list of 2006

Permalink to Comment

2. missy on April 13, 2006 11:13 AM writes...

Please send me the Billing Rates of Attorneys in Dallas, Texas for the top 50 law firms. Thank-you.

Permalink to Comment

TrackBack URL:
http://www.corante.com/cgi-bin/mt/teriore.fcgi/16625.

POST A COMMENT




Remember Me?



EMAIL THIS ENTRY TO A FRIEND

Email this entry to:

Your email address:

Message (optional):




RELATED ENTRIES
Calling All Legal Tech MacGyvers - A Mini-contest
If It's All About Respect, Why Do They Look So Foolish?
Facebook for Lawyers?
BlawgWorld 2007: An Introduction to the World of Blawgs
Copyright thought balloon: YouTube vs. RSS
Legal Issues Of Law And Commerce
Announcing the New Between Lawyers Facebook Group
George Lenard On Facebooking Employment Candidates