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PRESS RELEASE: 10th June 2019

STEADY GROWTH IN UK BUSINESS LAW MARKET BUT COMPETITION INTENSIFIES

UK-based business law firms and chambers generated revenues of around £16bn in 2018, an increase of 4.1% on 2017. Some of this revenue comes from overseas work and the UK market itself is worth between £11bn and £12bn.

Despite steady revenue growth in recent years, the business legal services market is an increasingly competitive one. Many clients of law firms have become competitors as well as clients as more legal work has been taken in-house. Other competitors include accountants, employment and HR consultants, online legal services, industry associations and business groups (although most of these are working with law firms to provide a service), and legal helplines. Alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) such as legal outsourcing companies, flexible lawyer businesses, and legal software and automation businesses, are taking some routine legal work away from law firms, plus starting to add new more added-value services. The larger UK business law firms are facing more competitive pressures from the Big Four accountancy firms – all of these now have separate legal businesses alongside their established business streams. Plus, US law firms expanding in London have provided even more competition.

An IRN Research survey of 160 businesses – 80 large businesses and 80 SMEs – in early 2019 found that a majority expect their demands for legal services to remain the same in the next 18 months but over a third of large businesses and almost one in five small businesses are expecting an increase in their need for external legal advice.

This report also has a special feature on the growth of fixed-fee employment law services. While fixed fee services still only account for a relatively small percentage of the value of the overall employment law market, the number of firms offering these services is growing. The feature profiles the key services from 12 law firms and 15 employment and HR consultancies and advice services.

This report is the third in a series of market reports on the business legal services market from IRN Research (branded as Orchard Reports) The UK Business Law Market Trends Report 2019, is available directly from IRN Research, priced at £350 (plus VAT), or £420 (incl. VAT.

REPORT CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5

Market size and structure 5

Key sectors - general corporate/commercial work and litigation 5

Net increase in future demand for business legal services 6

Special feature – fixed fee employment law market 6

Market growth forecast but competition is set to intensify 6

Introduction 7

Overview of business law 7

Competitive threats 9

MARKET STRUCTURE AND TRENDS 10

The structure of the market 10

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 12

Brexit 12

Judiciary’s Commercial Court Annual Report re-appears in 2019 12

More commercial courts data for March 2018 to March 2019 13

General Counsel expecting lower fees, faster turnaround from law firm IT 14

Published prices for some legal services for SMEs are here 14

Publishing price information would encourage SME use of legal advice 15

Contract lawyers market – more entrants, M&A activity and market listing 16

Alternative legal services providers 17

Survey of top 100 firms shows revenue growth but weaker profits. 18

THE BUSINESS LAW MARKET 19

Turnover of over £16bn and a UK market worth around £12bn 19

A growing market but one that is increasingly competitive 21

Corporate/commercial law and litigation the main sectors 22

BUSINESS USER SURVEY 22

Just over a quarter of businesses are regular users of external legal advisors 22

Most large firms use more than one law firm, most small firms use one 23

Employment, pensions, contracts – the main areas for legal advice 24

Different legal advisors for business and personal matters 25

Net increase in demand for legal services 25

Hourly rates still the fee model for a majority 26

THE FUTURE 28

Market forecasts 28

Competition to increase as in-house teams grow and ALSPs take more share 28

Controlling costs and fee pressures 29

More mergers 30

CORPORATE, FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL LAW 30

Economic trends/capital market movements drive the top end of the market 30

Global M & A activity decreases in 2018 although value increases 31

Domestic acquisitions and overseas activity by UK companies increase 31

Company insolvencies growing in the last three years 33

The number of commercial Chancery Division claims fall again in 2017 34

Commercial Court claims fall for the fourth year running 35

Shipping and maritime cases in the Admiralty Court stabilise 38

Number of technology and construction cases increase in latest year 38

EMPLOYMENT LAW 39

A market influenced by legal changes 39

Large rise in employment claims after tribunal fees abolished 40

Equal pay disputes is the largest area for tribunal work in 2017/18 41

B2B Law Feature – Fixed Fee Employment Law Services 43

Sector overview 43

Examples of law firms offering fixed fee services 44

Other employment law fixed fee services 44

INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION 46

London, an international hub for litigation and mediation 46

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS 48

Patents granted and trademark registrations continue to rise 48

Legal cases related to patents, trademarks and designs 49

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY LAW……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………50

ASSOCIATIONS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….52

IRN Research (trading name of IRN Consultants Ltd)

Established in 1991, IRN Research is a research agency with a focus on the legal services market. We offer a range of research services to law firms and suppliers to the sector. Services include client surveys, market studies, competitor intelligence, industry reports, and strategic studies.

For further information, contact David Mort on +44(0)7905 239599 or dmort@irn-, or visit market-research-legal-reports/.

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