New York financial services giant Citigroup has identified several key areas in which law firms are struggling in a report on the results for the first half of 2012.

Squeezed profits

According to the Am Law Daily web site, Dan DiPietro and Gretta Rusanow -- chairman and senior client adviser, respectively, at the private bank’s law firm group – maintain that growth in demand for services slowed from an already poor first quarter, fee collection had grown little from the prior year and most signs point to further declines this year, squeezing profit margins further.
The findings were based on a sample of 176 firms (79 Am Law 100 practices, 47 second 100 firms, and 50 additional firms).
The results also showed that although revenue growth accelerated and the increasing rate of expenses slowed, expenses still continue to grow at a faster pace than revenue. Head count growth also slowed, and billable hours were driven down further.