Key points:
- Legal sector employment in July approached the 2023 peak of 1.2 million jobs.
- Long-term growth is flat compared with pre-financial crisis levels.
- Large law firms have expanded headcount and revenues despite sector stagnation.
- AI and technology continue to reduce reliance on support staff.
The U.S. legal industry added jobs for the fifth consecutive month in July, even as the broader economy showed signs of strain. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the sector is now just below its December 2023 peak of 1.2 million jobs. Still, a review of more than three decades of data shows industry employment has not meaningfully surpassed its levels of nearly two decades ago Reuters reports.
July’s total represents only a 1.7% increase over May 2007, when the sector reached 1,179,500 jobs after years of growth. The financial crisis and the pandemic each set back legal employment, which has only recently returned to those pre-recession levels.
By contrast, the largest firms have seen steady expansion. Between 1999 and 2021, the 200 top-grossing U.S. firms increased lawyer headcount by 87% and revenues by 172%, according to American Lawyer data. Consultants note that demand from major corporate clients and steady rate hikes have fueled this growth.
Rate increases have also reshaped compensation at the top end of the market. Consultant Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith Esq. said pay for some lawyers now exceeds $10 million annually, a figure he described as unimaginable 15 years ago.
At the same time, firms have reduced reliance on support staff. A 2024 report from the Thomson Reuters Institute found that firms employed 95 support staff per lawyer in 2017, compared with 81 in 2023. Advances in legal technology and the growing use of artificial intelligence are expected to accelerate this trend. In one instance, a general counsel told consultant Kent Zimmermann of Zeughauser Group that he turned to a generative AI model rather than outside counsel for case summaries and data analysis.
Beyond employment figures, the July BLS report drew political attention. President Donald Trump dismissed BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer hours after its release, accusing her without evidence of manipulating the data.
Meanwhile, litigation and firm financial updates continue to highlight the industry’s uneven landscape. Boies Schiller is representing Florida officials in challenges to the state’s immigration policies, including litigation over a proposed Everglades detention facility that a judge recently ordered halted. And international firm Eversheds Sutherland announced a 10% increase in global revenue to $1.63 billion, with U.S. revenue climbing to $460 million in 2024. The firm also opened a new Silicon Valley office last month.
