2011 Predictions from Legal Media Stars

Post Date:

January 5, 2011

The past year didn't lack for interesting developments in the legal world: Elena Kagan joined the Supreme Court; mega-mergers went through at Hogan Lovells and SNR Denton; and the famed legal adversaries from Bush v. Gore, David Boies and Ted Olson, joined forces to put California's same-sex marriage ban on trial, to name just a few highlights.

So what's in store for 2011?

To find out what the next twelve months of legal headlines might look like, we went straight to the people who write them. And lucky for us, they were kind enough to oblige.

David Lat of Above the Law, Robin Sparkman of The American Lawyer, and Dahlia Lithwick of Slate all peered into their crystal balls for us. Together with Beltway insiders Jenna Greene of the National Law Journal and Marisa Kashino of Washingtonian, they gave us their thoughts on what kind of year 2011 might be for the legal industry.

Buckle up, here we go . . .

Robin Sparkman, Editor-in-Chief, The American Lawyer: "I think 2011 will finally be a good year for much of The Am Law 200: M&A and capital markets are coming back to life; litigation is picking up and all the cost-cutting that firms did in the lean years will pay off."

Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor, Slate: "2011 will be the year of No Drama at the Supreme Court. Last year the court found itself overdrawn on its public craziness account, between the wacky campaign finance decision, the Alito-Obama mine-wars, and all the confirmation theatre. In 2011 we will see lots of staid nothingness, in anticipation of a Shakespearian 2012."

David Lat, Founder and Managing Editor, Above the Law: "In 2011, I think -- and hope -- that law schools will become more forthcoming in terms of reporting the employment outcomes of their graduates. This trend is starting to develop momentum. A group called Law School Transparency has been doing some great work on this issue, and two entities with real power over law schools -- the ABA, which has accreditation authority, and U.S. News and World Report, which publishes influential rankings -- are starting to take notice. There are good arguments to be made in favor of or against going to law school, but we can all agree that the decision should be as informed as possible.

"On the law firm front, I'm predicting the dissolution of at least one, and quite likely more than one, large law firm. Although business is generally picking up, some firms still haven't managed to shake off the effects of the recession -- and they are now seeing significant defections, as their partners leave for firms that have weathered the storm better. So, in the next year, look for at least one large -- i.e., Am Law 200 -- law firm to either dissolve or be swallowed up by another firm as an alternative to dissolution."

Jenna Greene, National Law Journal: "In 2011, expect a solid uptick in regulatory work for D.C. firms. Many Washington lawyers thought regulatory work would spike immediately after the 2008 election. That was perhaps unrealistic, but the implementation of health care and Dodd Frank this year plus the new food safety law should boost demand for legal services. Telecom is likely to heat up as well, though antitrust and energy may remain slow."

Marisa Kashino, Washingtonian: "We will continue to see more partners leave large law firms in search of the more flexible billing structures offered at smaller firms."

Thanks to our participants for their fearless predictions, and may 2011 be a good one for us all.