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How Legal Services Can Maintain Profitability in a Shifting Landscape

By Scott Paster
December 31, 2013

Since the 2008 economic downturn, the U.S. legal market has undergone a permanent restructuring. With huge firms collapsing due to crippling debt, we see that legal services firms are no longer untouchable. The legal environment has become increasingly challenging as competition has increased, demand for legal services has remained flat, and firms are being forced to adopt more efficient, cost-effective and strategic business models. Further challenging legal services firms are: the visibility of public information about their capabilities, practices, clients and earnings; the drive towards commoditization of legal services; and the impact of globalization and cross-border mergers.

According to the “2013 Report on the State of the Legal Market” by The Center for the Study of the Legal Profession at the Georgetown University Law Center and Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor, firms will not stay profitable in the future without streamlining their business structures and improving operational efficiencies. See , http://bit.ly/191cxcT.

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