Citi Private Bank’s latest report on the legal sector showed a 4.1 per cent rise in law firm revenue for the first half of 2016, compared to 3.3 per cent a year earlier. But the rise income is due to higher billing rates, not increased demand from clients; fees increased by an average of 3.2 per cent.

Profits impacted

Profits were higher in the first half of the year, but are expected to be impacted in the second half by larger salaries being paid out by major law firms for junior lawyers.

Concerns

The survey also showed that firms specialising in litigation and bankruptcy are more optimistic about their overall prospects for the year than those with clients strongly involved in capital markets and corporate transactional work, which face uncertainty over Brexit and the US presidential election in November.

The findings were based on answers from 180 law firms, including 80 of the largest 100 American firms, 50 firms in the next largest tier and 50 smaller firms.

Source: New York Times