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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.
FIRM OR LEGAL OFFICE PRACTICES
• 23% have adjusted billing rates within the last year. • 10% have renegotiated office leases within the last year. • 25% have a strategic planning committee; 15% have a pro bono policy; 24% have a succession plan. • 36% have cyber liability insurance.
BUDGET/FINANCES
• 20% (up from 17% in 2019) had at least $100,000 in educational debt upon graduation from law school. • 27% had no debt, and 18% had less than $25,000 in debt. • 54% of the legal office or law firm’s gross receipts are attributed to all lawyer compensation, 22% to support staff compensation, and 23% to other expenses. • 59% anticipate their technology budget will increase in 2022. • 20% anticipate their travel budget will decrease in 2022.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS (see full report for average compensation levels)
Attorney experience
Minimum Maximum Average
Recent law school graduates with no experience $35,000 $85,000 $64,497 Recent law school graduates with experience (internship, clerkship) $48,000 $180,000 $71,809 Current attorneys with less than 3 years of experience $45,000 $95,000 $74,680 Current attorneys with 3 to 5 years of experience $45,000 $120,000 $81,147 Current attorneys with 6 to 8 years of experience $60,000 $300,000 $102,663 Current attorneys with more than 8 years of experience $70,000 $400,000 $126,589 Partner, shareholder or member $80,000 $500,000 $221,714
YOUNG LAWYER FEEDBACK
• 39% desire to be a partner at their current firm within ten years. • 41% are very confident they will achieve their ten-year goal. • 67% anticipate they will continue to work at their current firm/employer for the next five years. Twenty percent are unsure. • 88% believe the increased incorporation of technology will have a positive impact on their current or intended practice area(s). • 70% would be encouraged to explore new job opportunities based on the potential for increased compensation; 64% would be encouraged based on the potential to improve work/life balance. • The most important elements in evaluating a potential employer (based on a 1-5 scale where 1=extremely unimportant and 5=extremely important) are commitment to fostering work/life balance for employees (4.85 mean), salary (4.63 mean) and flexible work schedule (4.48 mean). • 88% have had a mentor (75% of which were attorneys at firm/employer) and 60% indicated the mentor was extremely impactful in their career.
SCHOOLED IN ETHICS, continued from page 19
with an appendix that tracks the changes to the text of each rule) is available at https://www.tba.org/?pg=LawBlog&blAction=showEntry&blogEntry=64580. 2 If you opened up an old Tennessee rules book, you probably found a Rule 7.2. That’s no longer the rule. This is another opportunity to reflect upon the problem of keeping out-of-date rule books in a lawyer’s office. 3 The best way to compare is to read the deleted 7.2(c) and the new 7.3(f) in the Court’s September 1, 2021 Order that is available at http://faughnanonethics.com/ wp-content/uploads/2020/10/TBA-Advertising-Rules-Petition.pdf. 4 Tennessee RPC 5.4(a)(6). The language of section Tennessee’s 5.4(a)(4), similar to the ABA rule, allows a lawyer to share court-awarded fees “with a client represented in the matter or with a non-profit organization that employed, retained, or recommended employment of the lawyer in the matter.” 5 The current list of registered intermediary organizations is found at https://www. tbpr.org/for-legal-professionals/rule-44-intermediary-organizations. 6 The Tennessee Supreme Court’s Order addressing the proposed amendment of RPC 7.6 and the deletion of Rule 44 is available at https://www.tncourts.gov/ sites/default/files/comment_order_for_r8rpc_7.6_and_rule_44_-_deadline_ november_30_2021.pdf. 7 These provisions are found in proposed Tennessee RPC 7.6(b)(3), (4).