Financial ‘Doom And Gloom’ For Biglaw? Maybe Not!

// Some people have seen the report and interpreted it as doom and gloom for the industry. I don’t see it that way. 2022 may end up being the second-best year the legal industry has ever had.

— Joe Mendola, senior director of sales for Wells Fargo Private Bank Legal Specialty Group, commenting on his group’s recent report on Biglaw’s financial results for the first half of the year, in an interview with Bloomberg Law. As noted in Reuters, among surveyed firms, Wells Fargo found that net income declined more than 9% year-over-year, while profits-per-equity partner fell 11%. On top of that, lawyer compensation costs increased by about 17%, while general expenses grew by more than 14% at the same time.

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Biglaw, Quote of the Day, Wells Fargo Private Bank's Legal Specialty Group