NALP Bulletin, May 2003
NALP's annual Patterns & Practices: Measures of Law Firm Hiring, Leverage, and Billable Hours in 2002 has been released and answers these questions for law firms nationwide and in 32 cities and 7 states. The findings are based on information found in a familiar NALP resource — the 2001 and 2002 NALP Directory of Legal Employers (NDLE).
Among the many useful and informative features of this 120-page report are concise summary tables such as that shown at right, which allow quick comparisons on a nationwide and city-specific basis. For example:
Among other findings in the report:
Summary of Second-Year Summer Hiring Trends — 2000-2002
# Hired in 2000 | # Hired in 2001 | # Expected to Be Hired in 2002 |
% Change 2000-2001 | % Change 2001-2002 | # of Offices Reporting | |
Nationwide | 10,502 | 11,172 | 9,677 | 6.4 | -13.4 | 1,091 |
By Firm Size: | ||||||
100 or fewer attorneys | 789 | 827 | 814 | 4.8 | -1.6 | 212 |
101-250 attorneys | 2,042 | 2,071 | 1,825 | 1.4 | -11.9 | 239 |
251-500 attorneys | 2,701 | 2,811 | 2,492 | 4.1 | -11.3 | 264 |
501 or more attorneys | 4,970 | 5,463 | 4,546 | 9.9 | -16.8 | 376 |
By Office Size: | ||||||
25 or fewer attorneys | 258 | 331 | 314 | 28.3 | -5.1 | 210 |
26-50 attorneys | 689 | 796 | 693 | 15.5 | -12.9 | 219 |
51-100 attorneys | 1,984 | 2,163 | 1,880 | 9.0 | -13.1 | 305 |
101 or more attorneys | 7,377 | 7,686 | 6,601 | 4.2 | -14.1 | 327 |
By NALP Region: | ||||||
Northeast | 2,851 | 3,166 | 2,691 | 11.0 | -15.0 | 178 |
Mid-Atlantic | 1,867 | 2,036 | 1,724 | 9.1 | -15.3 | 227 |
Southeast | 2,152 | 2,182 | 2,055 | 1.4 | -5.8 | 233 |
Midwest | 1,583 | 1,626 | 1,459 | 2.7 | -10.3 | 177 |
West/Rocky Mtn. | 1,887 | 1,983 | 1,575 | 5.1 | -20.6 | 271 |
By City: | ||||||
Atlanta | 340 | 368 | 335 | 8.2 | -9.0 | 28 |
Austin | 155 | 169 | 116 | 9.0 | -31.4 | 18 |
Boston | 442 | 450 | 353 | 1.8 | -21.6 | 23 |
Charlotte | 88 | 95 | 69 | 8.0 | -27.4 | 10 |
Chicago | 685 | 766 | 687 | 11.8 | -10.3 | 56 |
Cincinnati | 50 | 74 | 54 | 48.0 | -27.0 | 10 |
Cleveland | 103 | 99 | 93 | -3.9 | -6.1 | 9 |
Columbus | 76 | 87 | 67 | 14.5 | -23.0 | 12 |
Dallas | 468 | 498 | 475 | 6.4 | -4.6 | 31 |
Denver | 61 | 65 | 53 | 6.6 | -18.5 | 14 |
Detroit area | 73 | 54 | 78 | -26.0 | 44.4 | 11 |
Hartford | 61 | 60 | 51 | -1.6 | -15.0 | 12 |
Houston | 433 | 428 | 428 | -1.2 | 0.0 | 28 |
Kansas City area | 121 | 99 | 83 | -18.2 | -16.2 | 10 |
Los Angeles | 597 | 657 | 544 | 10.1 | -17.2 | 69 |
Miami | 51 | 55 | 49 | 7.8 | -10.9 | 15 |
Milwaukee | 97 | 88 | 67 | -9.3 | -23.9 | 8 |
Minneapolis/St. Paul | 155 | 148 | 136 | -4.5 | -8.1 | 17 |
New York City | 2,201 | 2,504 | 2,149 | 13.8 | -14.2 | 109 |
Northern Virginia | 33 | 40 | 40 | 21.2 | 0.0 | 15 |
Orange County, CA | 114 | 123 | 106 | 7.9 | -13.8 | 21 |
Philadelphia | 223 | 243 | 214 | 9.0 | -11.9 | 16 |
Phoenix | 74 | 77 | 72 | 4.1 | -6.5 | 11 |
Pittsburgh | 82 | 87 | 80 | 6.1 | -8.0 | 13 |
Portland, OR | 61 | 48 | 44 | -21.3 | -8.3 | 9 |
Raleigh/Durham | 22 | 29 | 31 | 31.8 | 6.9 | 8 |
San Diego | 93 | 92 | 53 | -1.1 | -42.4 | 14 |
San Francisco | 321 | 325 | 275 | 1.2 | -15.4 | 40 |
San Jose area | 347 | 329 | 203 | -5.2 | -38.3 | 24 |
Seattle area | 118 | 150 | 105 | 27.1 | -30.0 | 26 |
Tampa/St. Petersburg | 44 | 42 | 35 | -4.5 | -16.7 | 12 |
Washington, DC | 1,154 | 1,273 | 1,070 | 10.3 | -15.9 | 122 |
By State: | ||||||
California | 55 | 58 | 52 | 5.5 | -10.3 | 14 |
Florida | 46 | 41 | 55 | -10.9 | 34.1 | 21 |
Indiana | 45 | 46 | 40 | 2.2 | -13.0 | 9 |
Missouri | 60 | 60 | 56 | 0.0 | -6.7 | 10 |
New Jersey | 125 | 128 | 116 | 2.4 | -9.4 | 22 |
New York | 72 | 70 | 55 | -2.8 | -21.4 | 15 |
Virginia | 81 | 105 | 72 | 29.6 | -31.4 | 11 |
Note: State figures exclude any cities reported separately.