Altman Weil: COVID-19 reversed law departments decade-long budget trend

A new survey released by Altman Weil found that 66% of companies’ chief legal officers reported their organization’s revenue was down, while nearly 77% of those top attorneys said workload is up. According to the report, 11% of legal departments were forced to lay off employees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 45% of 119 law departments surveyed by consultant group are also slashing their budgets for 2021. This is the first time in a decade that more law department budgets will shrink than grow and budgeting for outside law firms is expected to take a particular hit. About 40% of law departments plan to increase spending next year.