bti legal spending outlook 2015 executive summary

Compelling Research. Compelling Results.©2014 The BTI Consulting Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2015

BTI Legal Spending OutlookChanges, Trends and Opportunities for Law Firms

Executive Summary

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©2014 The BTI Consulting Group, Inc. All rights reserved. +1 617 439 0333 www.bticonsulting.com BTI Legal Spending Outlook 2015: Changes, Trends and Opportunities for Law Firms +1 617 439 0333 www.bticonsulting.com EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Cautiously Follow the Dollars

Premium rates are at the cornerstone of most any law firm’s growth strategy. Earning higher rates is an easier way to grow profits per partner without increasing workload. Targeting high-rate work is not only enticing, it’s smart. However, the legal market demands a more comprehensive growth strategy. Limited premium opportunities exist, and competition for new work is at the highest levels BTI has ever seen in our 25 years of tracking the legal market. No practice is expected to grow more than 8% in 2015—meaning there are limited dollars to go around.

BTI’s Legal Spending Roadmap is your tool to understand how clients are changing their spending and use of law firms, by practice, in 2015. Each practice has a distinctive set of characteristics law firms can use to their advantage. The key is assembling your resources in a way to drive the highest return for the lowest investment.

• 8 practices are expected to exceed overall market growth and garner premium rates in 2015—these Priority Practices have the potential to drive firm growth and profitability

• 4 practices command premium rates, but little growth in the work available is expected—the Opportunistic Practices are of high value to clients, but firms can expect unprecedented levels of competition to win the work

• 1 practice is expected to grow faster than the overall market, but rate pressure will be high as clients tighten the screws on their firms to drive efficiency

• 3 practices make up the Cornerstone Practices group—these are more challenging opportunities (lower rates and limited growth), but without them clients will turn to other firms first

A Rebound Begins—Growth in All but 2 Practice Areas: Legal Spending Roadmap 2015

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Driving Trends for the 2015 Legal Market

The unlikely, but true, prediction for 2015: Growth

Corporate counsel are reallocating their budgets and priorities. Shifting budgets are translating into growth where there has been no growth before.

1. After shrinking in 2013, the US market for outside counsel services grows in 2014 Despite lingering apprehension over the stability of the US economy, the outside counsel market receives a small—but important—uptick in dollars. And the good news continues: this is expected to last through 2015.

2. New dollars flow into the US from an unlikely source Global organizations are increasing the dollars they spend with US outside counsel. Foreign- and domestic-based companies with global reach are back in growth mode. New transactions, cross-border labor issues, conflicting regulations, and strategic IP portfolio acquisitions are fueling moderate, but certain, growth in the US legal market.

3. Limited growth—but still growth—expected for all but 2 practice areas 15 of 17 practice areas will grow (some imperceptibly) in 2015. However, 8 practices are considered priority practices offering above-average market growth and access to premium rates.

4. Cybersecurity/Data Privacy emerges as a major market opportunity Corporate legal spending on cybersecurity-related issues crossed the billion-dollar threshold. Cybersecurity usually has 2–4 mega-cases per year with substantially more matters which have potential to become large-scale.

40.4%

Priority Practices Growth and Profits

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Starting on page 16

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However, fierce obstacles continue to pervade the legal market

The shifts in corporate counsel spending pose obstacles as well as present opportunities.

5. Litigation no longer a sure-fire cash cow 3 years of spending declines and another on the way. Corporate counsel are committed to reducing their litigation spending—and dockets. Resolution rates (settlements) are soaring and work (both routine and complex) is heading in-house at unprecedented rates.

6. Your biggest competitor may be your client Despite a boost in dollars spent, law firms are losing ground—and market share—to internal legal departments. For the 3rd straight year, corporate counsel shift more dollars in-house. Spending with law firms is now less than 60% of the total legal market, down from 67%.

67.1%

59.8%

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Driving Trends for the 2015 Legal Market

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2012

2013 2014

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©2014 The BTI Consulting Group, Inc. All rights reserved. +1 617 439 0333 www.bticonsulting.com EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BTI Legal Spending Outlook 2015: Changes, Trends and Opportunities for Law Firms

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Hitting the Reset Button on Legal Spending: Changes and Trends • A Recovering US Legal Market Grows in 2014

• Law Firms’ Most Formidable Competitor

• A $60.9 Billion Market

• Global Companies Increase Spending

Practice Spending and Opportunity Forecast

• A Rebound Begins

• Legal Practice Forecast 2015

• BTI’s Legal Spending Roadmap

– Practices with High Rates & Growing Returns

– High-Value Point of Entry Practices

– “Must-Have” Practices

– Revenue Boosting Practices

– Crossover Practices

Highest Growth Potential by Industry & Practice

BTI Recommendations

Practices Area Forecasts for:

• Bankruptcy

• Bet-The-Company Litigation

• Class Actions

• Corporate

• Cybersecurity/Data Privacy

• Employment

• Environmental

• Intellectual Property

• Investigations

• IP Litigation

• Litigation

• M&A

• Real Estate

• Regulatory

• Restructuring

• Securities

• Tax

About BTI

• Research Methodology and Approach

• Who We Are

• Key Services to Help Our Clients

• BTI Research and Publications

• Terms of Use

• Contact BTI

mailto:[email protected]?subject=BTI Legal Spending Outlook 2015

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Higher Rates, Growing Returns:

• 8 practices—including Cybersecurity/Data Privacy—are expected to exceed overall market growth and garner premium rates in 2015

• Priority Practices have the potential to drive firm growth and profitability

High-Value Points of Entry:

• 4 practices—including Bet-The-Company Litigation—command premium rates

• Opportunistic Practices are of high value to clients, but firms can expect unprecedented levels of competition to win the work

The “Must-Haves”:

• 3 practices—including Environmental—are more challenging opportunities

• But without them clients will turn to other firms first

Revenue Boosters:

• 1 practice is expected to grow faster than the overall market

• Rate pressure will be high

ROUTINE RATES PREMIUM RATES

GR

OW

TH P

RO

SPEC

TS

HIGHER GROWTH

NEGATIVE GROWTH

RELATIVE RATES

Legal Practice Forecast 2015 Navigating BTI’s Legal Spending Roadmap

TACTICAL PRACTICES PRIORITY PRACTICES

OPPORTUNISTIC PRACTICES CORNERSTONE PRACTICES

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Legal Spending Roadmap 2015

ROUTINE RATES

TACTICAL PRACTICES PRIORITY PRACTICES

= $1 Billion Market Opportunity PREMIUM RATES

OPPORTUNISTIC PRACTICES CORNERSTONE PRACTICES

GR

OW

TH P

RO

SPEC

TS

HIGHER GROWTH

NEGATIVE GROWTH

RELATIVE RATES

1.0% AVERAGE GROWTH

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About The BTI Consulting Group

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BTI Legal Spending Outlook 2015 draws on more than 4,000 interviews conducted over the span of 14 years. BTI’s ongoing Annual Survey of General Counsel includes between 50% and 55% of companies participating in prior years. This approach provides for accurate analysis of longitudinal trends while simultaneously allowing for insights into new, changing, and up-and-coming opportunities.

Spending, budget, and practice assessments for 2014 and 2015 are based on over 300 new one-on-one telephone interviews with decision-makers at top-spending companies:

• Average revenue of $17.5 billion

• Median revenue of $4.5 billion

This year’s new analysis relies on interviews conducted between March 13, 2014 and September 16, 2014 with legal decision-makers, including:

• 47.1% General Counsel or Chief Legal Officer

– 52.8% direct reports to General Counsel

BTI conducts all interviews using multiple techniques. These include:

• Structured questions

• Quantitative questions

• Forward-looking questions

• Experience-based questions

Research Methodology and Approach

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About BTI: Who We Are

BTI dissects each and every aspect of the client experience through more than 14,000 independent interviews with C-level executives and systematic analysis. BTI has helped professional services firms boost client service for 25 years.

BTI is the leading provider of strategic research to the legal community—performing more market research about law firms than virtually anyone. BTI has helped more than 200 law firms and professional services firms improve client service through compelling research and advice. We conduct the only continuous benchmarking market study in the legal services industry, now in its 15th year.

More than 70 of the 100 largest law firms use BTI’s services and research to:

• Implement robust client feedback programs

• Assess brand awareness and market positioning

• Target market opportunities

• Establish best practices and benchmarks to drive performance

BTI conducts the most insightful, custom client surveys as part of world-class client feedback programs to drive consistent client service delivery for leading professional services firms. Clients use BTI’s fact-based approach and powerful decision-making tools to drive change, create urgency and substantially boost performance.

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About BTI: Key Services to Help Our Clients

Client Insight Briefings

BTI also offers private briefings both in person and via the web. Chock full of client-based insights, perspectives and facts, BTI briefings draw from our research, experience and other resources to provide provocative, constructive insights to help you boost client satisfaction, increase client retention, and improve your performance. We can tailor our briefing to include specific feedback on your firm.

Please call Michael B. Rynowecer at +1 617 439 0333 to learn more about BTI’s custom research and services.

BTI performs a broad range of services for its clients, including:

Research & Services

• Custom Client Feedback Research

– Client Satisfaction Studies

– Client Needs Assessment

• Business Development

– Strategic Business Planning

– Client-Focused Business Practices

– Custom Training

• Benchmarking Your Performance

– Your Firm’s Client Satisfaction Score

– Financial and Market Performance

– Competitive Analysis

• Market Assessment

– Brand Health & Market Awareness Studies

– New Market Entry Assessments

• BTI Client Focus Boot Camps

– Highly Targeted 1½ Hour Sessions—Designed for Senior Partners and Attorneys

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BTI Research and Publications

BTI Litigation Outlook 2015: Changes, Trends and Opportunities for Law Firms http://www.btilitigationoutlook.com Your trusted and essential guide to navigating the hurdles in the market ahead. Use it to immediately target the best opportunities, overcome challenges, and prepare for the biggest changes. This comprehensive analysis of client spending, buying habits and opinions on over 160 law firms—by name—is the only fact-based tool based exclusively on over 300 one-on-one interviews with corporate counsel.

BTI Intellectual Property Outlook 2015: Changes, Trends & Opportunities in IP & IP Litigation http://www.bticonsulting.com/ip Delve into the world of Intellectual Property with a comprehensive, high-impact analysis of client spending, buying habits and opinions on nearly 200 law firms—by name. The only fact-based tool based exclusively on one-on-one interviews with IP decision makers. Proven to boost ROI on business development efforts.

What Clients Pay and What Law Firms Charge: BTI's Billing Rate Reference 2014 http://www.bticonsulting.com/rates BTI’s Billing Rate Reference 2014 takes the speculation and guesswork out of managing billing rates and provides comprehensive metrics to compare your firm's performance to key competitors, set pricing strategies, and identify potential opportunities to optimize rate structures.

BTI Client Relationship Scorecard 2014: Ranking Law Firm Client Relationships http://www.bticonsulting.com/clientrelationships In the BTI Client Relationship Scorecard 2014, corporate counsel gauge the strength of their current relationships with law firms—by name—to provide you with the most accurate measure of your law firm’s breadth and strength of client relationships—and those of your competitors.

BTI Client Service A-Team 2014: Survey of Law Firm Client Service Performance http://www.bticlientserviceateam.com 17 activities drive superior client relationships. 4 matter most. Discover how clients rate more than 250 law firms in these key activities—including Client Focus, Commitment to Help, Legal Skills, and Provides Value for the Dollar. Learn which firms rank best, The BTI Client Service 30.

You can order these and other compelling BTI research or publications at www.bticonsulting.com.

http://www.btilitigationoutlook.com/

http://www.bticonsulting.com/ip



http://www.bticonsulting.com/rates

http://www.bticonsulting.com/rates

http://www.bticonsulting.com/clientrelationships

http://www.bticlientserviceateam.com/

http://www.bticonsulting.com/

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This copy of BTI Legal Spending Outlook 2015: Changes, Trends and Opportunities for Law Firms is licensed to you for private, non-commercial use for internal company purposes. No portion of this information may be copied or transmitted in any form, shape, or manner without the prior written consent of The BTI Consulting Group, Inc., of Wellesley, MA. Any violation of this license may be punishable by applicable federal statutes and subject the user to additional and compensatory licensing fees. Copyright © The BTI Consulting Group, Inc., 2014.

Address any questions to:

The BTI Consulting Group, Inc. 396 Washington Street Suite 314 Wellesley, MA 02481 +1 617 439 0333

Terms of Use

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Please contact Michael B. Rynowecer, BTI President, at +1 617 439 0333 or at [email protected] with your questions, thoughts, and comments.

Contact BTI

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bti legal spending outlook 2015 executive summary

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