Together with the recent news that the number of LSAT test-takers increased dramatically from the previous year, this is similarly optimistic news. In a survey conducted last month by a legal software company called Aderant (and reported by The American Lawyer) of 138 legal professionals worldwide (though the respondents skewed heavily toward BigLaw), the majority said business is better this year compared to last.  That optimistic outlook increased along with the firm size of the respondents. An excerpt:

 Law Firm Optimism Up as Pressures Remain on Rates, Cybersecurity: Survey

A new survey of business-side professionals at law firms showed that optimism is high in the industry, while innovation is increasingly important to the largest firms.

 

Legal industry professionals say prospects for their future legal business look bright, but cite pricing pressures and cybersecurity as the biggest challenges their firms face, according to a new survey released Wednesday.

 

The second “Business of Law and Legal Technology” survey, by the legal software company Aderant, indicated that law firm professionals have a rosy view of their potential business. More than half of the survey’s respondents—some 57 percent—reported that business was “better” or “much better” at their law firms than it was over the prior year.

 

 And that optimism grows along with law firm size. More than 70 percent of the respondents from firms with greater than 500 lawyers viewed their business prospects this year as better or much better than last year, Aderant said.

“The larger the firm, the more likely the respondent was to say business is better,” Aderant said in its report. “More to the point, there’s noticeable tick up in optimism among firms with 501 or more lawyers.”