Top UK law firms feel the pinch

The UK's top 100 law firms have experienced their slowest quarterly income growth for nearly two years, according to a recent survey by professional services consultancy Deloitte.

The quarterly survey reports that the top 100 firms by revenue showed an average rise in fee income of 3.8 per cent in the three-months ending 31 July, compared to the same period last year, reports Legal Week newspaper.

M&A doldrums

This represents the slowest year-on-year quarterly growth since January 2011.
The top 10 firms suffered heavily with just a 1.7 per cent rise, while the figure stood at 2 per cent for firms ranked 11 to 25. From 25 to 50, the figure rose considerably to 4.5 per cent.
Deloitte professional services partner Jeremy Black commented: ‘There isn't much M&A activity, which is probably why smaller firms have been performing better – the [lower-ranked firms] cover areas of work that are more mixed, while the larger firms that focus more on transactional work have taken a hit.’

Hungry mouths

Simmons & Simmons senior partner Colin Passmore said: ‘The market remains tough and it's a comfort to be reminded that everyone faces the same challenges to win work. The fact that larger firms are growing the least isn't too surprising – the bigger the firm, the more mouths to feed.’

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