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'Hot' and 'Cold' Trends
Surviving in the “new normal” requires recognizing both “hot” and “cold” trends. Twice a year, our firm publishes a report on “What's Hot and What's Not in the Legal Profession,” not only in the United States, but also elsewhere in the world. In order to grow ' or even just survive ' in today's changing profession, firms must capitalize on the hot trends and avoid the cold ones. These are some of the most significant trends in each category that we discuss in our current Midyear Update.
Practice Areas
Some practice areas are hot or even red hot. Firms that already have a practice in these areas should continue to invest in growing them. They include:
- Energy. The “shale rush” along with advances in fracking technology have revitalized the natural gas industry, and the establishment of offshore oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico have all combined to attract global companies to invest in the U.S. And there's no client resistance to the high fees.
- Financial Services. Bank failures, Internet commerce and, of course, new laws such as Dodd-Frank are fueling this area. And it's not just at large firms. Smaller regional firms are also capitalizing on their historic strength in this area.
- Regulatory. It starts at the Federal level with health care reform and the EPA, and flows down to the state and local levels.
- Health Care and Insurance. These have been hot for several years. Now that the Supreme Court has spoken and Medicaid is becoming a controversial issue in many states, both areas will get red hot.
- Intellectual Property. This is due largely to the increase in so-called “patent trolls” as well as a dramatic increase in copyright and trademark infringement suits.
On the other hand, certain areas that have been the mainstays of large firms have cooled down. Firms and lawyers who have prospered due to these areas should lower their plans and expectations.
- IPOs. They dropped 20% in 2011. The Facebook fiasco just made things worse. However, some sources report there is pent-up demand, so IPOs could get hot again this Fall.
- Mergers & Acquisitions. Not only has the total number of deals declined but also the number of large deals over $1 billion is at the lowest level since 2008.
- Securities Class Actions. A number of smaller firms have enjoyed huge revenues thanks to these cases. However, a study by Stanford University Law School and Cornerstone Research says the trend has been toward far fewer cases and smaller settlements. This trend is not expected to reverse itself in the near future.
Marketing and Business Development
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