Legal Industry Surviving Economic Downturn

Tue, 01 Sep 2009

Britain’s largest law firms enjoyed a successful year in the 2008-09 financial year, Legal Business has revealed. Although profits fell by 14 per cent, down from £4.7 billion to £4 billion, the figures demonstrated the resilience of the legal profession to a severe economic downturn. With total revenue up slightly to £14.2 billion, Jim Baxter, editor of Legal Business, believes the figures are almost embarrassing for the UK’s top legal firms . With clients in other industries struggling to cope with the impact of the recession, the legal industry is likely to come under attack for its expensive legal fees .

Top lawyers remain well paid with the average equity partner at a top 100 UK law firm earning£380,000 in 2008-09, whilst that figure soared above £500,000 for those at a top 20 firm. Slaughter and May was once again the best paid firm in the City, with partners making an average of £1.6 million despite a 5 per cent fall in their profits. Freshfields was the second most profitable, with a profit per equity partner (PEP) of £1.4 million, ahead of Linklaters whose partners earned £1.2 million each on average.

The dip in profits enjoyed by legal firms ends a period of brisk growth, with the legal market expanding by as much as 20 per cent a year in recent years. Only Freshfields was able to match its record profits of the previous year.
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