Majority of law firms expect growth says poll
THE majority of law firms are expecting some growth in the next 12 months and their leaders are also expecting there to be more consolidation in the sector, accordign to research from Totuus Consulting.
Totuus, which co-sponsored the recent Legal Services 2015 conference with sister company Jepson Holt and Duff & Phelps, surveyed legal business leaders to gauge the temperature of the market ahead of the new year.
The poll of 40 senior and managing partners and law firm chief executives – 80% of whom lead businesses with more than 50 staff – shows that 59% expect moderate and 26 expect strong growth in the next 12 months. More than 70% were looking to hire more staff to meet this demand.
On the question of consolidation – a clear majority of 61% expect 2015 to see an acceleration in the rate of law firm mergers and acquisitions.
Another interesting finding was the number of non-lawyer managers in law firms and the openness to bringing in outsiders to leadership roles. More than a third, 36%, of firms already had a non-lawyer CEO and another 20.5% had a managing partner supported by a senior non-lawyer manager. A further 38.5% said they would consider bringing-in outside leadership.
Phil Jepson, director of Manchester-based Totuus Consulting said: “All in all the tone set was a positive one with firms feeling ready to take on the challenges they face.
“The only concern for us was that 31.5% of the respondents thought that their major competition in the medium term would come from traditional big law firms, with another 13% seeing local competitors as the main threat.
“Our view is that they are seriously misguided in thinking that. The legal market is wide open for new entrants and new business models. The other existing firms are more likely to be a source of support and collaboration than of competition.”
