Trade war boosts law firm demand

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By Sara Merken

What's going on today? 

Hello! I'm Sara Merken, the new author of The Afternoon Docket. You've likely seen my byline on The Daily Docket and on Reuters stories about the legal industry and litigation, which I'll continue to cover. Feel free to email me with any ideas or suggestions to make The Afternoon Docket even better.

REUTERS/Hannah Beier

Law firms had a slow start to 2025, but President Trump's global trade war fueled surging demand in March that helped prop up their first quarter, an analysis of firm financials by the Thomson Reuters Institute has found.

Litigation and transactional work experienced "significant spikes" late in the quarter, though that gain was not enough to fully offset slumping lawyer productivity and tepid demand in January and February, according to Thomson Reuters Institute's Law Firm Financial Index. The Thomson Reuters Institute and Reuters share the same parent company.

The benefits of Trump's wave of tariffs to law firms may well be short-lived, the report warned. The trade war poses a "direct threat" to firms' economic prospects in the second half of 2025 as demand for legal services typically surges then falls off during times of economic instability. Read more.

REUTERS/Leah Millis

President Trump recently ordered federal agencies not to enforce laws that prohibit policies and practices with discriminatory impacts that are often unintended. Curbing so-called "disparate impact" liability, which is common in employment-related cases, removes a critical tool the government has used for decades to also police discrimination in housing, education, lending and other areas. Read the explainer.

All of the 133 cardinals who will elect a new pope arrived in Rome … Israel may seize all of Gaza in an expanded operation, officials say … Trump ordered the reopening of the Alcatraz prison … The U.S. is seeking to weaken global development finance efforts … A U.S. lawmaker plans to target Nvidia chip smuggling to China with a new bill … The global economy is already feeling the drag from Trump's tariffs … The U.S. will offer a $1,000 stipend to encourage migrants to "self deport" … And Skechers will be taken private for $9.42 billion in the biggest footwear industry deal.

sara.merken@thomsonreuters.com

@saramerken

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