Despite Brexit uncertainty in many areas of the economy, the UK's legal services industry reached an all-time high in the first half of 2019 according to Office of National Statistics data.

Growth “continues apace”

Since records began in 1988, industry activity has risen steadily from turnover of £5.9bn in H2 of 1988 to £17.8bn in H2 of 2019 - marginally up on the second-highest half-year, H2 2018 at £17.6bn. The wider services industry, however, grew at a faster rate to £1,114bn, up over 5% in H2 2019 on H2 2018, the previous record, despite ongoing volatility. Louis Young, managing director at litigation funder Augusta, commented “The UK’s legal industry continues apace despite macro and political headwinds. As competition in the legal market increases with entrants such as the Big 4 accountants, law firms are looking for a competitive edge in the way they assist their clients to finance claims and also in how the firm funds its day to day operations.”

Data source

The data is drawn from the Office of National Statistics, which publishes regular data on the UK services industry in their monthly business survey reports. The ONS chart shows UK turnover for legal services and overall services industries for the first half of years from 1998, and can be found here.