What Legal Industry Problems? Law Firms Reported Major Revenues In 2012

Law firm profits jumped last year by a whopping 4.3 percent, according to a new report from Citi Private Bank.

But lawyers shouldn't get their hopes up yet. This promising new trend might not be sustainable, The Am Law Daily reported last week.

Citi Private Bank's full-year 2012 forecast found results from the third quarter threatened to drag down the entire year and were just barely offset by a profitable fourth quarter, according to Am Law Daily.

"But the factors in the fourth quarter of 2012 that drove such a strong finish to the year (very strong collections, a spike in demand, and more moderate growth in expenses) may not be sustainable," according to Am Law Daily.

Those factors include a big push for collections in the fourth quarter and a demand for growth.

And while those are positive trends, it all goes back to sustainability.

In their report, Citigroup bankers said they "are concerned about the start of 2013," according to Above The Law.

The bankers said firms will have to keep up their aggressive behavior from 2012's fourth quarter if they want to continue to see growth and will have to keep trimming non-legal staff and cutting expenses.

Up until now, the legal industry has seen some pretty bleak news. The industry was nuked by the financial crisis of 2008 and recovery essentially stalled midway through 2012.

So while this is great news, we remain cautiously optimistic at best.