In
its
latest
Law
Firm
Financial
Index,
Thomson
Reuters
compares
the
legal
market
to
the
eye
of
a
storm.
Perhaps.
Though
the
thing
about
the
eye
of
a
storm
is
you
know
you’re
halfway
to
the
other
side,
and
there’s
not
much
to
suggest
the
looming
danger
will
let
up
any
time
soon.
There’s
an
eerie
calm
before
someone
releases
a
family
of
rabid
opossums
in
your
house
too,
but
it’s
a
lot
harder
to
soothe
yourself
knowing
“this
too
shall
pass”
in
that
scenario.
For
law
firms,
Q2
came
and
went
without
much
drama.
Demand
was
up
—
slightly
—
and
remarkably
stable,
showing
the
least
volatility
since
2020
and
some
of
the
lowest
volatility
since
the
Great
Recession.
But
the
headline
for
this
report
might
as
well
read:
“Everything’s
Fine,
Which
Is
Exactly
Why
You
Should
Panic.”
The
report
paints
Q2
2025
as
the
legal
market’s
equivalent
of
that
awkward
silence
in
a
horror
movie
when
the
dog
stops
barking.
Clients
sought
out
more
advice,
but
that’s
more
indicative
of
the
uncertain
economic
environment.
More
alarming,
the
report
suggests
that
realization
rates
dipped
last
Q2,
which
could
signal
clients
taking
a
turn
for
the
stingy.
This
could
be
the
round
of
polite
ghosting
that
precedes
an
eventual
collections
bloodbath.
The
fact
that
the
best
growth
came
from
notoriously
countercyclical
litigation
and
M&A
sputtered
after
starting
the
year
on
a
high
and
you
can
see
why
this
“calm”
worries
people.
Meanwhile
the
costs
just
keep
adding
up
and,
in
true
2025
form,
a
large
part
of
that
is
the
AI
arms
race.
Interestingly,
after
years
of
the
Biglaw
elite
driving
the
business
numbers
for
the
industry,
it’s
the
midsized
and
Second
Hundred
firms
enjoying
a
lot
of
the
benefits
from
last
quarter.
The
picture
becomes
even
more
complicated
when
we
look
at
each
law
firm
segment.
Am
Law
100
firms
saw
a
decline
in
demand
growth
in
Q2,
especially
in
their
corporate
practices.
At
the
same
time,
the
Am
Law
1-50
firms
continued
to
sharply
limit
their
lawyer
head-count
growth.
Midsize
and
Second
Hundred
firms,
by
contrast,
greatly
accelerated
their
demand
performance
across
most
practices.
This
surge
in
demand
was
enough
to
elevate
these
firms’
fees
worked
growth
above
that
of
the
Am
Law
100,
offsetting
Am
Law
100
firms’
advantage
in
worked
rate
growth.
If
we
must
stick
with
the
meteorological
references
—
as
we
should
in
honor
of
the
federal
government
putting
out
a
mass
call
to
hire
weather
professionals
at
a
premium
after
Elon
fired
everyone
with
no
plan
—
is
this
an
“eye”
or
the
“calm
before
the
storm”?
The
latter
at
least
conveys
that
there’s
no
way
of
knowing
when
this
is
going
to
end.
Or
the
rabid
opossum
thing.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
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politics,
and
a
healthy
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of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.