Hildebrandt Institute & Citi Private Bank, Client Advisory:

The Hildebrandt Institute and Citi Private Bank are pleased to present this 2012 Client Advisory highlighting the trends that we perceived in the legal market in 2011, as well as the factors that we believe will impact the market in 2012.

As the legal market continues in its fourth year of the economic malaise that began in mid-2008, it unfortunately remains true that the best way to describe the overall economic prospects of the industry — at least in the near term — is “uncertain.” As a result, many law firms find themselves, like the traveler in the folk song, with “one foot on the platform and the other on the train,” uncertain about which way to jump to best position themselves for long-term success and unclear about when the train will pull out of the station, at what speed, or on which track. … [W]e anticipate that 2012 will be a year of limited growth for the legal market.

• American Lawyer, Hildebrandt/Citi Report Sees Legal Market Growth Lagging Again in 2012
• Wall Street Journal Law Blog, ‘Uncertain’ Prospects for Legal Industry, Say Citi/Hildebrandt