3 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – AUGUST 2024 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM THE BRIEFING: YOUR MONTHLY NEED-TO-KNOW U.S. LAW FIRM TRANSACTIONAL WORK REBOUNDS AFTER (Reuters) Demand for transactional practices is on the upswing after nearly three years of sluggish performance — one of several strong economic indicators for law firms in the second quarter of 2024, an analysis has found. Demand for corporate transactional work, which can include contract drafting, real estate deals and bank financing, was up 2.2 percent in the second quarter compared with the previous year, according to Thomson Reuters Institute’s Law Firm Financial Index, opens new tab, which tracks key financial metrics across 195 large and midsize law firms. That contributed to a 2.4 percent increase in overall law firm demand compared with the same time period for the previous year. Coupled with a 6.6 percent increase in billing rates and a relatively modest 5.3% growth in direct expenses, U.S. law firms are collectively in one of their strongest financial positions of the past decade. While transactional practices are slowly rebounding, counter-cyclical practices including litigation and bankruptcy are still driving the bulk of the overall gains. IN THE NEWS Dentons has announced the election of Kate Barton as its next global CEO. Barton will succeed Elliott Portnoy, the firm’s founding Global CEO, who has served since its launch in 2013. Barton had a 35-year career at EY, where she was most recently global vice chair. Legaltech firm Litera has acquired information governance and records management company FileTrail. The addition is expected to complements Litera’s existing products to develop governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) capabilities for law firms and corporations. “LAWYERS ARE PROTESTING BECAUSE THE CHANGES WILL CREATE CONFUSION.” QUOTE UNQUOTE NC Sharma, spokesperson of the All District Courts Bar Associations of Delhi tells Reuters why thousands of lawyers are protesting against an overhaul in criminal legislation. 3-YEAR SLUMP, REPORT SAYS Average increase in partner pay at leading UK-headquartered law firms in the last financial year, according to analysis by Financial News. Revenue also climbed nearly 10 percent. 11 PERCENT 87% Australian law firms are increasingly adopting salaried arrangements for partners as a decade of rapid growth puts pressure on equity allocations and intensifies competition for ambitious lawyers, according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR). The AFR’s Law Partnership Survey reveals that nearly two-thirds of new partners at top Australian law firms were appointed on a part or whole salary basis. This trend mirrors similar practices in the U.S., where leading firms employ two-tiered partnership systems. The shift allows firms to promote and bill out promising lawyers at higher rates while preserving profit distributions for established partners. Over the past decade, surveyed firms have added more than 1,400 partners, stretching equity bands and challenging traditional models. Firms like Ashurst and Herbert Smith Freehills have embraced partsalaried positions, even at the top end of the corporate market. Proportion of law firm clients in the UK who say they are satisfied with the legal service they received, according to research for the Legal Services Consumer Panel. AUSSIE FIRMS EMBRACE SALARIED PARTNERS AMID RAPID GROWTH
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