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Law firms: bouncing back?
In collaboration with Law.com, we have analysed the latest set of filed accounts for the top 50 UK law firms for the year 2021-22, as the legal profession emerges from the shadow of the pandemic. They reveal a lacklustre recovery, with a 8.7% rise in revenues for the UK’s largest law firms. After the tough years of lockdown and slow activity, legal firm management teams will have hoped for more.
Today, the sector faces a raft of new challenges. There is a question over whether demand for legal services can thrive amid a climate of higher interest rates and inflation, plus waning business confidence. Deal activity has slipped during 2022, particularly in the previously lucrative private equity and venture capital area. Our analysis shows that law firms have been largely successful in keeping a lid on costs, but this is becoming more difficult as inflationary pressures mount.
On a positive note, it is encouraging to see law firms paying increasingly close attention to their environmental responsibilities. The end of lockdown has not coincided with a significant pick-up in carbon emissions. There is now a group of high profile law firms leading the way on sustainability, setting an example of best practice for the wider sector.
Top 50 accounts analysis 2021-2022
Giles Murphy, Head of Professional Practices at Evelyn Partners LLP and Paul Hodkinson, Editor-in-Chief at Law.com International discuss the top 50 law firm accounts for 2021-2022.
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Top 50 LLP accounts: the post-pandemic bounce is on hold
The 2021-2022 year for law firms was characterised by the UK finally emerging from the shadow of the Covid pandemic. A gradual normalisation of social and economic activity was underway, with freedom of movement restored and corporate confidence returning.
