Partners in law firms are rich as Croesus – or is that what law department lawyers think?

InsideCounsel, July 2006 at 52, printed the results of 407 law department lawyers, of which about 200 were general counsel, who gave their views on the statement “Law firms make too much money.” Far more agreed to it (43%) than disagreed (19%), while the remainder chose “neutral” (See my post of Aug. 28, 2006 where I poke at this statement’s interpretation.).

The latest survey, Inside Counsel, July 2007 at 58, repeated the question and the corresponding metrics are 38 percent agree, 22 percent disagree, and the remainder chose neutral.

In short, ten percent fewer law department lawyers agreed this year to the statement. Perhaps one reason is that both twice as many responded this year and double the percentage of them are general counsel. Thus, in 2006 about 80 general counsel participated whereas the most recent survey enticed around 360 general counsel. They may have a fairer perspective on the relative earnings of partners and in-house lawyers.