A survey of global, international, and domestic US law firms shows they are generally making more money and increasing their productivity.

Lawyers are making more money and are delivering more, but they also have put their fees up.

So, at least, is the conclusion of a survey of the US and world legal industry by Citi Private Bank.

The figures are not broken down into segments such as private client law group or firm, but Citi has told this publication in the past that a significant number of such entities will be covered by the data.

Global, regional and international law firms increased revenues by 4.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year from a year before, while costs rose 1.6 per cent, the survey noted. For definition purposes, a regional firm is one where fewer than 10 per cent of total lawyer (full-time equivalent) is based outside the US and more than half of total lawyer FTE is based in the headquarter office. An international firm is where fewer than a quarter of total lawyer FTE is based outside the US; a global firm is where greater than, or equal to, a quarter of total lawyer FTE is outside the US.

Lawyer rates rose by 4.4 per cent, with global firms leading the way, raising them 5.6 per cent year-on-year.

Across all types of firm, headcount rose by 0.9 per cent in the quarter from a year ago; the fastest growth was among global firms, up 2.3 per cent, the survey found. Productivity, measured as average hours per lawyer, rose 1.1 per cent, and regional firms posted the fastest gain, up 2.2 per cent.