United Kingdom Legal Services Market Report 2024

DUBLIN, March 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "UK Legal Services Market Report 2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The report considers legislative background, recent market developments and drivers, market structure, market size and trends with historical volume and value data, market segmentation by key practice area with volume and value data, the key players and future market developments.

The fourteenth annual edition of the report provides a unique detailed market review and analysis of the UK legal services market, including corporate law, conveyancing, family law, employment, personal injury and wills and probate.

Key Highlights

• In 2023 the UK legal services market registered value growth of 8.3% at current prices reaching £47.5bn.
• The law firm population is declining year-on-year and, measured by firms regulated by the SRA in England and Wales, numbers had decreased to 9,341 in December 2023: between December 2018 and December 2023 law firm numbers in England and Wales have declined by over 1,000 law firms. Over the same period, the number of solicitors with practising certificates has increased by 13%.
• Consolidation in many consumer law sectors has been a feature of the last few years and this has been the main factor behind the decrease in the law firm population. It has been high street law firms and SME law firms that have seen while the largest decrease in numbers.
• Revenue growth of 6.7% was achieved by the top 100 UK law firms in the latest financial year 2022/23 but this was below the 10.1% recorded in the previous year. Total revenues of the top 100 were £33.7bn increasing from £31.6bn in 2021/22. However, increasing profits has been difficult in the latest financial year: the total net profit of the 100 largest firms was £10.267bn, little changed from the previous year's £10.261bn. It has been the mid-market corporate law firms that have performed the best in 2023.
• A notable theme over the last year has been the growing role of private equity investment in the sector led by the purchase of global law firm DWF by Inflexion Private Equity Partners. The last 12 months also saw the first private equity move for a business run by barristers, private equity backed law firms such as Fletchers and Stowe Family Law continued to take on more businesses while private equity firms Lawfront Holdings and MAPD expanded their presence in the sector. Of all the mergers and acquisitions since the last report over 20% involve either new investments by private equity businesses or private-equity backed law firms.
• Legal advice for business and commercial matters (including commercial property) is the largest specific market segment taking almost a 50% share of the total UK legal services market value. In the consumer law market, the best performing sectors have been family law and employment law followed by wills and probate. Personal injury and conveyancing have faced a tough 12 months.

Key Topics Covered:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

MARKET STRUCTURE

• Clear majority of legal advisers are regulated
• Proposed regulatory changes in Scotland
• Unregulated sector
• Law firm numbers decline by over 1,000 in last five years
• Chamber numbers decrease in 2023
• Licensed conveyancers
• Patent and trademark attorneys
• Cost lawyers
• Other providers of legal services
• Personnel numbers
• Solicitors
• Barristers
• Other legal professionals
• Total legal services employment

MARKET DEVELOPMENTS

• Cause for concern over sustainability of civil legal aid
• NAO report identifies more concerns about the legal aid system
• Fixed recoverable costs apply from 1st October 2023
• Potential new regulators for CILEX lawyers, paralegals and others
• Family court reporting pilot to be extended
• CMA investigation launched on wills, pre-paid probate plans, online divorce
• HMCTS's court reforms behind schedule and delivering less
• Solicitors Indemnity Fund taking over by SRA
• Consultation on re-introduction of employment tribunal fees
• Increased appetite for generative AI amongst lawyers in UK

THE KEY PLAYERS

• The Top 100 firms generate growth but at a lower rate than the previous year
• Acquisitions and mergers
• Axiom Ince
• M&As in the last 12 months
• Top 50 UK Law Firms
• Selected other legal services providers
• Listed law firms and others with legal interests
• Gateley PLC
• Keystone Law Group PLC
• Knights PLC
• NAHL Group PLC
• RBG Holdings PLC
• Other listed companies with legal interests
• Anexo PLC
• Frenkel Topping Group PLC
• Marlowe PLC
• Redde Northgate PLC
• Consumer Law Firms
• Coop Legal Services
• Fletchers Solicitors Ltd
• Irwin Mitchell LLP
• Minster Law Ltd
• Simpson Millar
• Slater & Gordon UK Ltd

MARKET SIZE AND TRENDS

• Healthy market value growth in 2023
• UK exports of legal services pass £7bn for the first time

MARKET SEGMENTATION

• Corporate, financial and commercial law
• Overview
• M&A activity
• Company formations and insolvencies
• Commercial Courts
• International litigation and dispute resolution
• Personal injury
• Overview
• The number of cases continues to decline in 2023
• Official Injury Claim - two years since launch and still little use by individuals
• Commercial and residential property, including conveyancing
• Overview
• Residential property market remains weak in 2023
• Wills, trusts and probate
• Overview
• Probate applications declining as deaths also fall
• Family law
• Overview
• Decrees absolute granted increase in 2023
• Employment law
• Overview
• Employment tribunal cases decrease in latest year

THE FUTURE

• Steady growth expected in 2024
• Forecasts

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ufs2g7

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SOURCE Research and Markets