Litigation Picking Up? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a worried junior associate in litigation hearing others post about being re-shifted into corporate departments at very top firms. Everyone mentions how countercyclical and busy litigation was during the previous recession, but that's now how it worked out this time (so far).

Does anyone have any predictions about when lit will be picking back up or is it already picking back up? Do we think bankruptcy/restructuring litigation is around the corner? I definitely feel like it's getting busier again, but I'm not sure how more experienced litigators are gauging the situation.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a worried junior associate in litigation hearing others post about being re-shifted into corporate departments at very top firms. Everyone mentions how countercyclical and busy litigation was during the previous recession, but that's now how it worked out this time (so far).

Does anyone have any predictions about when lit will be picking back up or is it already picking back up? Do we think bankruptcy/restructuring litigation is around the corner? I definitely feel like it's getting busier again, but I'm not sure how more experienced litigators are gauging the situation.

Uhhhh... I guess I don't know about all litigation, but patent litigation new filings were up year over year in 2020.

[Anonymous User]

I think some context is that some V10s have reportedly been slow in lit for quite a while, even pre-Covid, and long-term market trends are probably against biglaw lit departments. The boutique I'm familiar with is scheduled to be extremely busy through 2021 due to continued trials from 2020, but it's much smaller/more trial-heavy than a conventional biglaw firm.

[Anonymous User]

If Biden's election will usher in some more white-collar defense work...

[YA_Tittle]

If Biden's election will usher in some more white-collar defense work...

Don't hold your breath

[Anonymous User]

I think some context is that some V10s have reportedly been slow in lit for quite a while, even pre-Covid, and long-term market trends are probably against biglaw lit departments. The boutique I'm familiar with is scheduled to be extremely busy through 2021 due to continued trials from 2020, but it's much smaller/more trial-heavy than a conventional biglaw firm.

Is biglaw litigation really dying out? What about securities lit or internal investigations work?

[Anonymous User]

Just odd given that those same V10s still hire tons of litigators even if those departments have gotten more selective/cut the total numbers back. So why even taken them on? I can't imagine it's literally dying out or any time soon, at least.

[Anonymous User]

The tech firms are equally drowning in litigation and corporate right now.

[Anonymous User]

Litigation has not been as profitable for big law firms as corporate for a long time now. There was a big surge in litigation following the 2008 crisis, but it's slowed down significantly since then, even as some cases drag on. From what I've heard, clients just aren't so keen on paying for big cases anymore and have been capping fees and giving a lot of pushback on bills from litigation departments.

This is all anecdotal but I do think it's borne out in partnership promotions. If you look at who is making partner, you'll see that year after year firms are making way more corporate partners than litigation partners. At many firms it seems like they'll promote 1-2 litigation partners a year, and sometimes none at all. And if you look at PPP rankings, those seem overwhelmingly driven by the strength of corporate practices.

Whether this trend is permanent is hard to say, but I do think it's been going on for a while. You have to do what you find interesting and like, but it's something worth considering.

[Anonymous User]

I agree it’s not been as profitable as corporate, but I’d assume it still generates a good amount of profits. Some lit associates are getting slammed with work while others are worrying about meeting the hours. So, I think it really depends on which firm and what practice area you are going into.

[Anonymous User]

Litigation is not really cyclical in the same way deal work or restructuring or bankruptcy is. It’s just on sort of a slow sector-wide decline as companies decide to hire biglaw firms less often to handle disputes.

2020 was definitely slower, because many courts just put case schedules on pause. Even now, many of my cases have huge delays because we got rescheduled in line behind all the delayed criminal cases, so there isn’t as much to do other than squabble over discovery now and then.

I will say my V10 lit-heavy office is quite busy at the moment. It tends to run hot and cold in roughly 2 year cycles, I think - it was hot in 16/17, slow in 18/19, then heating up again when COVID hit. But I think that has more to do with partner behavior and how much time they dedicate to drumming up work - if it’s hot, they aren’t spending so much time trying to pitch cases as when it’s slow, and then we associates feel that on the backend.

[Anonymous User]

When you say “worth considering,” does that mean it’s wise for a first-year to just try and move into corporate instead?

My end goal is to lateral to a mid-size firm in a secondary market, which has much more lit to go around (lower fees, transactional not as present, etc.). Would it be wise to stick it out in lit for a few years and try to make that move?

[Anonymous User]

When you say “worth considering,” does that mean it’s wise for a first-year to just try and move into corporate instead?

My end goal is to lateral to a mid-size firm in a secondary market, which has much more lit to go around (lower fees, transactional not as present, etc.). Would it be wise to stick it out in lit for a few years and try to make that move?

You might consider going straight to the secondary market if money isn't a concern, or if it pays enough that it's comparable to biglaw, but the slow long-term trend against biglaw litigation, rise of boutiques, etc. doesn't mean there isn't biglaw lit in the near term. If you want to do lit, and get a job doing it, obviously you should do lit.

[Anonymous User]

Going straight to the secondary market wasn’t really possible for me. Beyond not attending a T14 to begin with, the market also has very small SA classes and mostly fill up their firms with NY laterals.

[Anonymous User]

Any other insights from litigation associates?

[Anonymous User]

When you say “worth considering,” does that mean it’s wise for a first-year to just try and move into corporate instead?

My end goal is to lateral to a mid-size firm in a secondary market, which has much more lit to go around (lower fees, transactional not as present, etc.). Would it be wise to stick it out in lit for a few years and try to make that move?

I just meant it's worth thinking about. You always have to think about what your opportunities are going to be down the road.

I wouldn't necessarily say you should do corporate just b/c the prospects for making partner in big law litigation are lower. If you like litigation more, that's what you should do.

If you're end goal is to lateral to a mid-sized firm in a secondary market, I'm sure there are litigation jobs. I wouldn't say you should move to corporate if that's your goal. If your goal were making partner at a big NYC firm and didn't care so much if it was in litigation or corporate (which, to be clear, would be a very strange way to approach things), then I would say you should do corporate.