Lawyer Employment Down Despite Higher Demand

t(To see the largest law firms in Northwest Arkansas, click here.)

The law industry is one sector that’s consistently landing new clientele with little effort, but even so, employment at the area’s top firms was down slightly in 2009.

According to the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s annual list of largest law firms, there are 19 firms employing a total of 169 lawyers, a 5.5 percent decrease from 2008 numbers.

Only firms employing four or more lawyers in a Northwest Arkansas-based office were included on the list, therefore Boyer Rhoads & Teague PA of Rogers dropped off the list due to the absence of former partner Doug Schrantz who was elected as a Benton County Circuit Court judge in May.

Kutak Rock and Bassett Law Firm, both of Fayetteville, tied as Northwest Arkansas’ largest law firms by number of lawyers.

Ten of the top 19 firms are located in Fayetteville, with five in Benton County and four in Springdale.

There was little movement in reported hourly rates. A few firms raised their top rate, but overall rates were flat or consistent with rates from a year earlier.