The findings are from a survey of the UK’s  largest law firms which found that almost half (48 per cent) of Finance Directors surveyed saw the rising number of requests for fixed-fee work as presenting a high risk to profitability. In addition, 28 per cent of Finance Directors are also very concerned about the risk of clients consolidating their legal panels, thereby reducing the amount of potential work firms have access to and simultaneously driving down fees chargeable by those firms that are retained.

 

Growth areas

 

The survey by Thomson Reuters also found that construction was among the top five areas of work in which firms expected to grow in the next year with 79 per cent of respondents expecting fast or moderate growth. Regulatory and compliance work was top in terms of projected rapid growth with 36 per cent expecting to see fast growth in this area, followed by energy (17 per cent) and restructuring/insolvency (16 per cent).