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.’