Insights From the
2022 Legal Trends
Repor
t
Data-driven insights from the 2022 Legal Trends

Insights From the
2022 Legal Trends
Repor
t
Data-driven insights from the 2022 Legal Trends

Joshua Leno
n
Lawyer in Residenc
e
joshua.lenon@clio.com
Rio Peterso
n
Senior Affinity Partnerships Manage
r
rio.peterson@clio.com

Agenda
• Introduction to the Legal Trends Repor
t
• Data source
s
• Past conclusion
s
• 2022’s Key Metrics from the Legal Trends Repor
t
• A Desire for Alternative Payment Method
s
• Who’s Winning the New Work Era
?
• Takeaway
s
• Questions

Introduction to the
2022 Legal Trends Report

Legal
Trends
Report
2016
Powered by Clio 2017
Legal
Trends
Report
Legal
Trends
Report
POWERED BY CLIO
2018
Our seventh annual edition

Data Sources
Clio App Dat
a
Aggregated and anonymized data from
tens of thousands of legal professionals
in the United States
.
Legal Professional and
Consumer Survey
s
We surveyed 1,134 legal professionals and
1,168 consumers in April and May 2022.
458 service professionals in accounting, consulting,
and investment and financial services were surveyed
for comparison data.
Location Dat
a
This year’s report utilizes aggregated and
anonymized IP address data to analyze where
lawyers are working from and how this has changed
over time.

#1:
Introducing the
Law Firm “Funnel”

Utilization rate
Number of billable
hours worked
Number of
hours in a day
28%
Realization rate
Number of billable
hours invoiced 81%
Number of billable
hours worked
Collection rate Number of hours
collected upon 86%
Number of billable
hours invoiced
÷ =
÷ =
÷ =
Law firm key performance indicators (KPIs) - 2016

1.8 hours realized 6.2 hours missing
5.76 hours missing
2.24 hours utilized
Lawyer Funnel — 2016
8 hour work day
1.5 hours collected
6.5 hours missing
How many hours were billable?
Insight from the 2016
Legal Trends Report
Legal
Trends
Report
2016
Powered by Clio

#2:
What happens to the
missing six hours?

Missing Six
Hour
s
• Too much time eaten by non-
billable administrative task
s
• Not enough clients to support
billable targets
48
%
Administrative tasks
16
%
Licensing
and
continuing
education
16
%
Office
administration
15
%
Generating
and sending
11
%
Configuring
technology
6
%
Collections
33
%
Business Development

62%
37%
31%
28%
16%
13%
13%
7%
6%
Get a referral from friend/family
Use an online search engine
Get a referral from another lawyer
Look in a lawyer directory or listing
Look in the yellow pages
Contact a lawyer seen in a TV ad
Contact a lawyer seen in an online ad
Contact a lawyer heard in a radio ad
Contact a lawyer seen on a billboard
How do consumers find a lawyer?

67
%
Responds to first
call/email right
away
64
%
Offers free
initial
consults
47
%
Offers fixed
fees 28
%
Let’s clients
pay by credit
card
27
%
Exchanges
texts with
clients
19
%
Great-looking
website
What potential clients look for

#3:
The chasm between lawyer
and client expectations.

46% 46%
31% 31%
30%
32%
28% 29%
45%
27%
17%
51%
15%
33%
11%
25%
8%
40%
Disparity between
lawyers and clients
Anxiety Control Annoyance Anger Confusion Relief Urgency Disbelief Frustration
Lawyer perception of client
emotions
Actual client emotions
Client emotions vs lawyers’ perceptions

Communication by type:
In
person
Phone Email Website or online portal/app Other
39% 51%
Lawyers
18% 7%
70%
Consumers
Perception vs. reality: telling a lawyer all the facts or details of a situation

Communication by type:
44% 44% 8%
Lawyers
23% 14%
55% 5%
Consumers
In
person
Phone Email Website or online portal/app Other
Perception vs. reality: learning about the legal aspects of a case

#4:
Do law firms deliver on
client expectations?

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
100%
Timely response
Easy to understand
Understanding process
Knowing next steps
Answering each question
Cost expectations
Friendly tone
Getting a meeting request
Most important 2nd most important 3rd most important
Importance to clients

of consumers expect a
response to an initial
inquiry within 24 hours.
79%

So, we put 1,000 law firms
to the test…

never responded
to the inquiry at all.
60%

Of those that
responded, only
29% provided a
response that was
timely, clear, and
answered at least
one question.
29%

#5:
Are there winning firms?

New casework and firm
revenue compared to previous
year
20%
10%
0%
-10%
-30%
-20%
Jan
2020
Feb
2020
M
ar 2020
Apr 2020
M
ay
2020
Jun
2020
Jul 2020
Aug
2020
New matters (YoY)
Revenue (YoY)

Revenue advantages to using
technology solutions (per lawyer)*
2019
2020
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
Electronic
payments
Client
portals
Client
intake and
CRM
Multiple
solutions*
$0

YOUR FIRM THE CLIENT JOURNEY
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Download the 2022
Legal Trends Repor
t
clio.com/LTR

2022 Key Metrics

45%
36%
35%
20%

Utilization rate
Number of billable
hours worked
Number of
hours in a day
33%
Realization rate
Number of billable
hours invoiced 84%
Number of billable
hours worked
Collection rate Number of hours
collected upon 89%
Number of billable
hours invoiced
÷ =
÷ =
÷ =
Law firm key performance indicators (KPIs)

1.9 hours realized 6.1 hours missing
5.6 hours missing
2.4 hours utilized
Lawyer Funnel — 2021
8 hour work day
1.6 hours collected
6.4 hours missing
How many hours were billable?
Insight from the 2021
Legal Trends Report

1.9 hours realized 6.1 hours missing
5.6 hours missing
2.4 hours utilized
Lawyer Funnel — 2021
8 hour work day
1.6 hours collected
6.4 hours missing
How many hours were billable?
Insight from the 2021
Legal Trends Report

1.9 hours realized 6.1 hours missing
5.6 hours missing
2.4 hours utilized
Lawyer Funnel — 2021
8 hour work day
1.6 hours collected
6.4 hours missing
How many hours were billable?
Insight from the 2021
Legal Trends Report

1.9 hours realized 6.1 hours missing
5.6 hours missing
2.4 hours utilized
Lawyer Funnel — 2021
8 hour work day
1.6 hours collected
6.4 hours missing
How many hours were billable?
Insight from the 2021
Legal Trends Report

2.2 hours realized 5.8 hours missing
5.36 hours missing
2.64 hours utilized
8 hour work day
2 hours collected
6 hours missing
Lawyer Funnel — 2022
How many hours were billable?

2.2 hours realized 5.8 hours missing
5.36 hours missing
2.64 hours utilized
8 hour work day
2 hours collected
6 hours missing
Lawyer Funnel — 2022
How many hours were billable?

A Desire for
Alternative Payment
Methods

Who’s Winning the
New Work Era?

of lawyers left a job
in the past 12 months.
19% 9%
of lawyers plan to leave
a job in the next 6 months.

of lawyers say they work
over 40 hours per week.
59%

of lawyers want to
choose which hours
of the day they work.
76%

of lawyers prefer
working from home.
49%

Only-Office Mostly-Office
Mostly-Digital
Hybrid

Early Market Mainstream Market
Innovator
s
2.5%
Early
Adopter
s
13.5%
Early Majorit
y
34%
Late Majorit
y
34%
Laggard
s
16%
Tech
Enthusiasts
Visionaries
Pragmatists Conservatives
Skeptics
The Chasm
Source: Crossing the Chasm
How technology spreads through markets

Innovators
2.5%
Early Adopters
13.5%
Early Majority
34%
Late Majority
34%
Laggards
16%
0
25
50
75
100
Market
share
%
Early Adopters Control The Market

of consumers said
working remotely with a
lawyer is a key factor in
hiring a
fi
rm.
79%
Insight from the 2021
Legal Trends Report

of lawyers prefer meeting
their colleagues virtually
39% 45%
of lawyers prefer meeting
clients virtually

Takeaways

Rates may be too lo
w

Clients will pay higher rates for
alternative billing methods

Lawyers can handle
increased demand

Work-life balance is the goal;
work-life blend is the method

Law firms are not a location
but a state of mind

Law firms that are cloud-first
will attract & retain talent

Cloud-first legal services
are winning

Download the 2022
Legal Trends Repor
t
clio.com/LTR

Further Resources

Polls: Participate to win a $25
Starbucks card!
Poll 1: For Non-Clio Users
• Would you like to learn more about
:
• Clio’s offering
s
• 2023 Clio Cloud Conferenc
e
• No, I’m not interested or already
use Clio
Poll 2: For Clio users
• Would you like to learn more about
:
• Adding Clio Grow for client intak
e
• Adding Clio Payment
s
• 2023 Clio Cloud Conferenc
e
• No, I’m not interested or already use Grow/
Payments

Additional Resources
Webinar series: Applying Learnings From the Legal
Trends Report at Your Firm
CLE-eligible webinar: 2022 in Review: What's Working
Report: 2022 Legal Trends Report
Legal rate calculator: Try it here
1
2
3
4

Andrew Card
y
Research Writer
Amanda Siegman
n
Brand Designer
Ardo Illast
e
Data Scientist

Simona Mackovichov
a
Researcher, Customer Insights
Bryce Tarlin
g
Staff Writer and Editor
Sasha Perri
n
Director, Content and
Communications

Nika Kabir
i
Senior Director, Decision Science

Joshua Lenon and Rio Peterson
joshua@clio.com | rio.peterson@clio.com
Thank you!

Questions?