Just Released 7 Key Trends Defining Legal Spending in 2024

It’s the widest spectrum of legal needs corporate counsel face in decades. But this is just the start:

• Almost no clients expect a slowdown in legal needs — in fact — most see the opposite
• Few in-house legal departments are hiring in-house staff in a meaningful way
• Outside counsel is headed up for the 4th year in a row
• All this adds up to one thing — increased demand for outside counsel

New matters, new regulations, regulatory headwinds, and employee activism are unrelenting. False claims are driving regulatory issues and litigation. Data privacy is wreaking havoc as breaches and ransomware attacks soar — and a higher proportion of these are ending in litigation. And there are hostile regulators at every turn.

Corporate counsel are facing all this head-on. And few are adding internal resources in a meaningful way. This explains why:

• The number of companies increasing spending on outside counsel outpaces the decreasers by 4 to 1
• 7 industries — the largest spenders — show the most acute needs
• 6 practices are commanding the highest rate premiums in years
• High Tech clients have 11 compelling needs
• Pharma have 10 compelling needs
• Healthcare have 10 compelling needs
• Most industries face at least 6 compelling sets of legal needs

Despite these needs:

Clients are quietly trimming law firm panels — but — they are more open to hiring new firms.

Prepare for what is going to be another surprisingly strong year for the firms putting business development up front. There are few places where clients don’t have substantial needs.

You Can Get an Early Jump on All This

BTI delineates all this and more in our brand new BTI Practice Outlook 2024: Navigating Legal Spending and Needs in the New Unpredictable World. This research is based on more than 290 in-depth independent interviews with top legal decision makers. You get the most detailed, authoritative look at outside counsel spending for 2024 — for 15 practices and 18 industries.

Find the Hot Spots by Industry Fast — BTI’s Industry Opportunity Matrix 2024

Map out spending with client plans for 15 practices and 18 industries — all in one place. Your in-depth look at how companies are changing the way they allocate their legal budgets in 2024 pinpoints the high-rate opportunities.

Learn the distinct client mindset in each practice. Use it to your advantage to develop premium work with the most effective strategies. This is one of the most in-demand tools used by law firms.

Easily spot spending surges — and get the inside story on why and how to capture the new work. Only in the just-released BTI Practice Outlook 2024: Navigating Legal Spending and Needs in the New Unpredictable World.