As many law firms sharpened their profitability in 2023, they often extended their leverage last year, including many big firms in Atlanta and the Southeast.
Overall, Am Law 100 firms in 2023 increased their leverage. The metric—defined as total lawyers (excluding equity partners) divided by the number of equity partners—is often tracked to help understand a firm’s equity partner ratio as law firms grow in head count and partnerships. Leverage for the Am Law 100 as a whole rose about 3.5% from 4.26 in 2022 to 4.41 in 2023, according to American Lawyer data.
