Industry revenue of legal services in the U.S. 2011-2023
The U.S. market for legal services is the largest in the world by far with cumulative revenues of around 2 trillion U.S. dollars over the period 2012-2018. The industry, which provides employment to over 350,000 lawyers, is expected to increase from 313.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 to over 344 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Government, worker’s compensation and trusts are the three largest practice areas in terms of revenues generated, in the country.
Technology disrupting the market
The global legal industry is rapidly being disrupted by technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence (AI) which help with functions such as data repositories, document preservation, tech-assisted document review and project management. For example, clients can now run AI models on invoices generated by law firms to predict how long a particular case will run for and the costs involved. They can also use analytics to derive information on opposing lawyers and how a judge might rule on a specific topic, based on past patterns. Old-school firms are therefore under increasing pressure to streamline their services, especially in the face of rising competition from alternative providers, most of who have advanced technological capabilities. According to a recent survey in the U.S., legal firms cite the use of technology as the number one initiative to increase efficiencies.
Technology disrupting the market
The global legal industry is rapidly being disrupted by technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence (AI) which help with functions such as data repositories, document preservation, tech-assisted document review and project management. For example, clients can now run AI models on invoices generated by law firms to predict how long a particular case will run for and the costs involved. They can also use analytics to derive information on opposing lawyers and how a judge might rule on a specific topic, based on past patterns. Old-school firms are therefore under increasing pressure to streamline their services, especially in the face of rising competition from alternative providers, most of who have advanced technological capabilities. According to a recent survey in the U.S., legal firms cite the use of technology as the number one initiative to increase efficiencies.
