2nd Annual Bloomberg Law Survey Report Offers Labor & Employment Lawyers Valuable Insights Into The State Of The Practice

Bloomberg Law Demonstrates Continued Commitment to Offer More Tools and Content for Labor & Employment Practitioners than Any Other Resource

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Bloomberg Law

Nov 07, 2017, 14:00 ET

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloomberg Law today released its second annual Labor & Employment Practice Benchmarks Report, which offers practitioners a comprehensive review of how their peers conduct many aspects of the practice, from use of technology and knowledge management to billing rates and fees, business development, and compensation structures. A complimentary executive summary of the survey report is available online at http://on.bna.com/c0AT30goJBg and is being offered to attendees of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law's 11th Annual Conference, November 8-11 in Washington, D.C. Exclusive access to the full report is available to subscribers of Bloomberg Law.

"This report is an authoritative, trusted source of research and analysis that provides detailed insights into the practice of labor and employment law," said Victoria Roberts, Vice President and General Manager for Labor & Employment, Benefits and HR at Bloomberg Law. "We continue to enhance the content of this survey report and new this year is intelligence regarding research methods, tools, and the value of various types of data for decision making."

Among the key findings:

Larger firms (51 or more attorneys) are more likely to offer a fixed fee structure for labor and employment matters, with 80 percent offering this option, as compared to only 61 percent of smaller firms. Nearly half of firms offering fix fees respond that they are somewhat profitable (46 percent), nearly three in ten say they break even (29 percent) and one in four respond that they are somewhat unprofitable (24 percent).
Attorneys negotiate billing/fees with just under half of their clients (43 percent) with an average discount of 11 percent.
On average, labor and employment attorneys spend 18 percent of their time on business development efforts and report an average RFP win rate of 39 percent. Firms with at least one person dedicated to responding to RFPs have a higher win rate (47 percent) than those who do not (37 percent).
Over half of all labor and employment matters (65 percent) are settled, and of those, nearly two-thirds (53 percent) are settled pre-judgement. Strength of claims and defenses (81 percent) and cost-benefit analysis (79 percent) are the most cited factors in decisions to settle.
Use of email and paper documents are ubiquitous among labor and employment attorneys (100 percent and 95 percent, respectively), but digital means are catching up. Virtual meetings and cloud based storage are used by 7 out of 10.

"This report is a significant component of the Labor and Employment Practice Center on Bloomberg Law," noted Roberts. "With more tools, content, and data than any other labor and employment resource, Bloomberg Law makes it easier for labor and employment attorneys to evaluate and improve their practices, solve issues, devise successful litigation strategies, draft and negotiate agreements, and advise on compliance matters."

Within the full report, each chapter includes a full-page infographic showcasing the top-line findings on that specific topic. The survey was conducted during July and August of 2017 and the report is based on responses from nearly 350 labor and employment practitioners. The respondents represent a mix of attorneys from labor and employment practices around the country including Am Law 200 and boutique firms.

About Bloomberg Law
Bloomberg Law helps legal professionals provide world-class counsel with access to actionable legal intelligence in a business context. Bloomberg Law delivers a unique combination of practical guidance, comprehensive primary and secondary source material, trusted and exclusive content, news, time-saving practice tools, market data and business intelligence. For more information, visit www.bna.com/bloomberglaw.

SOURCE Bloomberg Law