AROUND THE BAR
AND THE SURVEY SAYS... KBA’S 2021 ECONOMICS & LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SURVEY The survey had two primary objectives: (1) To provide timely, relevant and accurate information to inform and guide practical management and planning decisions by local attorneys, including private and non-private practitioners, judiciary and government workers, and (2) To monitor key trends within the legal profession. METHODOLOGY The 2021 KBA Economics and Law Practice Management Survey was submitted electronically to 1,554 bar members in August 2021. 296 members completed the survey in full for a response rate of about 19%, meaning we can have high confidence that the survey responses reflect the demographics and economics of the Knoxville legal community overall. The survey was designed jointly by the Knoxville Bar Association and the ABA Division for Bar Services. The data collection and analysis were handled by the ABA Division for Bar Services. Review the complete survey results under Member Resources at www.knoxbar.org to find the responses filtered by years of experience, employment setting and firm size. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SURVEY RESULTS DEMOGRAPHICS • Almost half of respondents are over 50 years of age. • 59% are male. • One-third have been practicing over 30 years. • 38% have been members of the KBA for at least 20 years. CURRENT POSITION/PRACTICE SETTING • 78.5% are in private practice. • 47% are in a practice with 5 or fewer attorneys. YOUR LEGAL PRACTICE • 9% devote 60 hours or more to the legal profession in a typical week, down from 15.2% in 2019. • Client expectations and work-life balance have the most impact on the ability to successfully practice law. • 54% report experiencing an increase in clients having a higher level of expectations compared to the past. • The issues causing the most concern are balancing work and personal issues (3.95 concern level on a scale of 1-5), earning a living (3.90) and keeping current in the practice of law (3.84). • 54% would pursue the legal profession as a career if they were making the decision again (30% are not sure). • 77% percent spend at least an hour per week on volunteer work, with 18% spending 6-10 hours per week. • The average number of pro bono hours completed in 2020 was 35.9 hours. HOURLY BILLING/BILLABLE HOURS • 76% had billable hours in 2020. • 27% (up from 23% in 2019) had 1,000 billable hours or fewer; 14% had 1,801-2000 billable hours. • 75% charge on an hourly basis. • 51% have an average or standard hourly rate of $250 or more. • 58% (up from 51% in 2019) have increased their rate over the past two years, and 40% plan to increase their rate in 2022.
22
DICTA
December 2021
