In the national economy, there were signs that 2014 marked the return of happy days, or at least more productive and profitable ones. America’s Gross Domestic Product increased 2.4 percent, representing the highest such increase in four years. On average, more than 200,000 jobs were added each month, resulting in the best showing for job gains since 1999. An 11.4 percent increase in the Standard and Poor’s 500-stock index reflected the strong performance of equities markets in 2014.
The Am Law 100, the nation’s 100 highest-grossing law firms, generally reflected this trend, finding themselves busier and more profitable. “It was a tremendous year,” says Marc Jaffe, global co-chair of Latham & Watkins’ capital markets practice. He says that firms benefited from spikes in financial transactions work as well as growth in “white-hot” industries such as life sciences and technology.
