The smaller firms have lost ground at the same time. An analysis of invoices by the researchers shows that firms employing 201 to 500 lawyers had a 35% market share in 2011 but lost two-thirds of that and slumped to 13% in 2014.

Not by brute force

Kris Satkunas, the report's main author, said: 'Big Law isn’t taking this space by brute force, but rather by focusing on right-size staffing on corporate client accounts.' The research, published as the 'Enterprise Legal Management Trends' report, is based on 4m law firm invoices. Source: New York Times