#66: The 2025 Legal Industry Outlook: Key Trends from Gretta Rusanow of Citi’s Law Firm Group Advisory Services
Release Date: 04/02/2025
#90: How to Handle Ambiguity in BigLaw Assignments
Big Law Life
One of the toughest parts of BigLaw life is dealing with unclear or contradictory instructions. Partners often send cryptic emails, clients can be vague, and deadlines shift without explanation. You can waste hours second-guessing what a partner really wants. Or you can get smart about how to deal with ambiguity and recognize that mastering it is part of the job in BigLaw. In this episode, I share the practical strategies you can use to navigate those moments, from clarifying vague assignments without pestering, to using timeboxing and judgment calls when no direction is available. I...
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#89: How BigLaw Measures Profitability and What It Means for Your Career
Big Law Life
Profitability is a word that makes many lawyers cringe. We know firms measure it, but the methods and metrics often feel murky—or worse, toxic to firm culture. Still, ignoring profitability is not an option if you want to succeed and thrive in BigLaw. In this episode, I break down what profitability really means inside large firms, why it’s far more than just gross billings, and how to take control of the numbers that impact your compensation, partnership prospects, and long-term career. From cost structures and volume to realization and collections, I share how firms evaluate...
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#88: How Strategic Planning Can Help BigLaw Attorneys Succeed in Their Firms - with Sheri Palomaki
Big Law Life
Strategic planning often feels like corporate jargon that doesn’t belong in law firms. Yet without a clear plan, too many lawyers end up chasing random opportunities, wasting time, and missing the clients and matters best suited to help them succeed with building their practice and their business. In this episode, I talk with Sheri Palomaki, Director of Practice Operations at K&L Gates [Energy, Infrastructure, Resources] about why strategic planning is a critical skill for lawyers today, what makes it so difficult in our environment, and how attorneys in BigLaw can use practical...
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#87: How BigLaw Lawyers Can Succeed at Business Development Without Firm Support
Big Law Life
Building and sustaining a practice in BigLaw can sometimes feel like you’re carrying the entire business development and marketing load yourself. From writing client alerts and chasing follow-ups to hosting webinars and developing leads, many lawyers know the frustration of not having enough support from firm marketing and business development teams. In this episode, I break down how to work smarter with the limited internal resources you may have -- even in a BigLaw firm -- where and how to create repeatable business development habits, how to leverage platforms outside your firm, and...
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#86: What Your BigLaw Firm Really Means When It Says You’re Not Ready for Partnership
Big Law Life
Making partner in BigLaw is rarely a straightforward path and the feedback you get from your firm can be really cryptic. In this episode, I break down common things firms say to explain why they’re holding off on your promotion and what they really mean. We go deeper into three of the most frequent partnership “holding patterns”: the need for more visibility, more business development, and more leadership. I share exactly how each one shows up in day-to-day practice, the actions that actually move the needle, and the questions you should be asking to turn vague guidance into a...
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#85: Why BigLaw Partners Still Need Learning & Development—Leigh Riley on How Foley Built a Program That Delivers
Big Law Life
The legal industry has long assumed that once you make partner, you no longer need training. But as law firm operations have become more complex, and leadership expectations more demanding, that mindset no longer serves the firm or its partners. In this episode, I talk with Leigh Riley, a longtime partner at Foley & Lardner and architect of the firm’s PEAK (Partner Excellence Actionable Knowledge) program, which is redefining what professional development looks like for senior lawyers. Leigh shares the real-world gaps she experienced after making partner and how she helped build a...
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#84: Finding Ways to Raise Your Visibility in BigLaw When You Lack External Opportunities
Big Law Life
When you’re early in your legal career—or even well into it—it can feel like raising your professional profile is only possible if you’re already visible. But in this episode, I share how lawyers at all levels can expand their reputation strategically, even without headlining conferences and events, or getting opportunities to publish in legal journals and publications. I walk through the barriers lawyers face with getting more external visibility, including for attorney working in-house or at firms with less resources or ability to assist their practictioners, and break down...
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#83: Business Development in BigLaw: Structural Barriers No One Talks About
Big Law Life
If you've ever wondered why business development in BigLaw feels so slow, frustrating, and opaque even when you're doing everything right, this episode is for you. I break down the structural and strategic reasons many top-tier BigLaw attorneys struggle to build books of business. From long sales cycles to limited access to decision makers and visibility issues within firms, I explore what’s really going on beneath the surface. If you’re doing all the “right” things but not seeing results yet, I walk through the key signals that you’re still on the right path and why your firm...
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#82: Fighting Back Against Credit Theft in BigLaw
Big Law Life
If you’ve ever lost credit for work you led, grown a client relationship that someone else now claims, or watched a colleague take center stage at a pitch you prepared, this episode is for you. I walk through what professional credit theft looks like in Big Law and how to respond in a way that’s smart, strategic, and fact-based. Whether it’s origination, execution, or visibility, losing credit can hit your comp, promotion, and internal standing hard, and it can happen pretty often in law firms. I break down how to document your contributions, when (and how) to raise the issue, and what...
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#81: Why BigLaw Lawyers Struggle with Clear Communication—and How to Fix It
Big Law Life
If you’ve ever found yourself rewriting an email ten times, hedging every sentence in a memo, or avoiding a hard conversation with a colleague or client—you’re not alone. In this episode, I dive into why communication is one of the most underestimated challenges in Big Law, and how it can make or break your success. Lawyers are trained for precision and risk mitigation—not for clarity or connection. And firm culture only reinforces that. But when your writing is dense, your feedback is vague, or your tone is overly formal, it’s not just style—it’s a barrier to effective...
info_outlineIn today’s episode, I sit down with Gretta Rusanow, Head of Law Firm Group Advisory Services for Citi Global Wealth at Work, to break down the findings of the 2025 Citi Hildebrandt Client Advisory. This annual report is one of the most closely watched analyses in the legal industry, providing insights on market trends, firm growth strategies, and the evolving business model of law firms.
We explore some of the biggest challenges and opportunities law firms are facing, including the slow but inevitable adoption of generative AI, shifting leverage models, the expansion of non-equity partner tiers, and how firms are approaching lateral hiring in an increasingly competitive market. If you’re a law firm leader, an aspiring partner, or simply want to stay ahead of where the legal industry is headed, this episode is packed with valuable insights.
At a Glance:
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00:00 Introduction: The Future of Big Law
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01:20 Overview of the Citi Hildebrandt Client Advisory and its influence on law firm strategy
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04:03 How law firms are responding to generative AI and why spending remains low
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08:20 The challenge of recouping AI investment costs while maintaining profitability
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10:46 How AI may reshape associate leverage models and impact billing structures
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16:07 The role of lateral partner hiring and why success rates remain modest
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20:56 The rise of the non-equity partner tier and its impact on law firm economics
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27:21 The risks of an overgrown income partner tier and how firms can manage it effectively
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30:51 Growth markets and law firm consolidation trends in 2025
A Few Takeaways:
Generative AI Adoption Is Slow, But Inevitable: Despite all the buzz, law firms spent less than 1% of their revenue on generative AI tools in 2023. Firms are still in the assessment phase, but large-scale investment is coming. Those that successfully integrate AI will need to balance efficiency gains with sustainable billing models.
Leverage Models Will Shift, But Not Disappear: While AI may reduce the need for first- and second-year associates to perform certain tasks, firms are more likely to reshape their leverage models than abandon them. Many firms expect a shift toward mid-level and senior associates who can refine AI-generated work rather than a dramatic cut in junior hiring.
Lateral Hiring Is a Gamble: The success rate of lateral hires remains low, with many firms finding that promised books of business don’t always materialize. Firms that succeed in lateral hiring have rigorous integration strategies, ensuring new partners are fully embedded in firm culture and client relationships.
The Non-Equity Partner Tier Is Expanding for Retention: More firms are embracing the income partner model as a way to retain senior associates who might otherwise leave. While this strategy can strengthen talent pipelines, firms must carefully manage this tier to avoid the inefficiencies seen in past decades.
Market Consolidation Is Expected to Continue: The cost of running a law firm is rising, from AI investments to partner compensation. In an environment of modest demand growth, firms will increasingly turn to mergers and strategic consolidation to remain competitive, particularly in high-cost legal markets like New York, California, and London.
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How to reach Gretta Rusanow: [email protected]
Interested in doing 1-2-1 coaching with Laura Terrell? Or learning more about her work coaching and consulting? - here are ways to reach out to her:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauralterrell/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraterrellcoaching/
Show notes: https://www.lauraterrell.com/podcast