Yet, while hiring may have hit the brakes, the total number of lawyers swelled by 3.9%. This surge came at a price: a 4.1% slump in productivity. The average billable hours per lawyer clocked in at 1,538 – a notable descent from 2021’s peak of 1,688 and the 2018-2019 average of 1,631.
Additionally, in a display of burstiness, lawyer billable hours recorded a 0.4% dip after witnessing a marginal 0.2% growth in the initial half of 2022.
