Owning and operating a solo practice comes with its own unique challenges. Since client experiences are still fast-evolving, solos need to find new ways to distinguish themselves from larger firms—and to stay at the forefront of innovation. This report looks at what distinguishes solos across multiple perspectives—including financial performance, personal and professional well-being, and client relationships.

2. Joshua Lenon
Lawyer in Residence
E: Joshua@clio.com
T: @JoshuaLenon

3. Agenda
• Why Solos?
• Introduction to the Legal Trends Report
• 2022’s Key Metrics from the Legal Trends Report
• A Desire for Alternative Payment Methods
• Who’s Winning the New Work Era?
• Takeaways
• Questions

4. Why Solos?

5. Solo Lawyers represent
the majority of law firms

6. Solo is the goal,
not the starting point

7. of lawyers who quit their
fi
rms started their own
solo practices
31%

8. Solos represent a
unique form of practice

9. Introduction to the
2023 Legal Trends Report
for Solo Firms

10. Legal
Trends
Report
2016
Powered by Clio 2017
Legal
Trends
Report
Legal
Trends
Report
POWERED BY CLIO
2018
Our seventh annual edition

12. Data Sources
Clio App Data
Aggregated and anonymized data from
tens of thousands of legal professionals
in the United States.
Legal Professional and
Consumer Surveys
We surveyed 1,134 legal professionals and
1,168 consumers in April and May 2022.
458 service professionals in accounting, consulting,
and investment and financial services were
surveyed for comparison data.
Location Data
This year’s report utilizes aggregated and
anonymized IP address data to analyze where
lawyers are working from and how this has changed
over time.

13. 2022 Key Metrics

14. 45%
36%
35%
20%

18. Utilization rate
Number of billable
hours worked
Number of
hours in a day
33%
Realization rate
Number of billable
hours invoiced 84%
Number of billable
hours worked
Collection rate Number of hours
collected upon 89%
Number of billable
hours invoiced
÷ =
÷ =
÷ =
Law firm key performance indicators (KPIs)

21. 2.2 hours realized 5.8 hours missing
5.36 hours missing
2.64 hours utilized
8 hour work day
2 hours collected
6 hours missing
Lawyer Funnel — 2022
How many hours were billable?

22. 1.8 hours realized 6.2 hours missing
5.76 hours missing
2.24 hours utilized
Lawyer Funnel — 2016
8 hour work day
1.5 hours collected
6.5 hours missing
How many hours were billable?
Insight from the 2016
Legal Trends Report
Legal
Trends
Report
2016
Powered by Clio

23. Who’s Winning the
New Work Era?

24. of lawyers le
ft
a job
in the past 12 months.
19% 9%
of lawyers plan to leave
a job in the next 6 months.

26. of lawyers who quit their
fi
rms started their own
solo practices
31%

28. of lawyers say they work
over 40 hours per week.
59%

35. of lawyers want to
choose which hours
of the day they work.
76%

36. of lawyers prefer
working from home.
49%

37. of solos want to
choose which hours
of the day they work.
98%
of solos prefer
working from home.
62%

40. of consumers said
working remotely with
a lawyer is a key factor
in hiring a
fi
rm.
79%
Insight from the 2021
Legal Trends Report

44. of solos prefer want the
option to work with clients in
a di
ff
erent state
66% 50%
of solos prefer meeting
clients virtually

49. Takeaways

50. Rates may be too low

52. Solos have a freedom
to innovate

53. Clients will pay higher rates for
alternative billing methods

54. Solos need boundaries

55. Work-life balance is the goal;
work-life blend is the method

56. Law firms are not a location
but a state of mind

57. Cloud-first legal services
are winning

58. Andrew Cardy
Research Writer
Amanda Siegmann
Brand Designer
Ardo Illaste
Data Scientist

59. Simona Mackovichova
Researcher, Customer Insights
Bryce Tarling
Staff Writer and Editor
Sasha Perrin
Director, Content and
Communications

60. Nika Kabiri
Senior Director, Decision Science

61. Joshua Lenon
joshua@clio.com
Thank you!

62. Linkedin.com/in/joshualenon
@JoshuaLenon
joshua.lenon@clio.com
888-858-2546
www.clio.com
Joshua Lenon
CONTACT INFORMATION
Lawyer in Residence