Transcript: Law Firms’ Survey 2024 financial overview and key themes

Transcript

Kate Wolstenhome: Financial performance in the legal sector has been overwhelmingly positive in the last 12 months. Global and UK fee income growth exceeded expectations, with just over half of top 50 firms posting double digit fee income growth, and measures to control costs have also had a positive impact on profitability.

However, there's been little progress in addressing poor working capital practices, with average lock up days remaining stubbornly high.

As it becomes harder for firms to sustain the rate increases that have helped them absorb rising costs in recent years, fundamental productivity and growth challenges must be addressed.

Firms will need to embrace innovation through technology, cloud, data and GenAI and then adapt quickly to capitalise on the opportunities.

We anticipate that firms will need to undertake transformation of their operating models and rethink the size and shape of the future workforce.

And they'll need to build greater resilience against growing risks from cyber attacks, geopolitical instability and the impact of climate change and ESG expectations.

Download our latest Law Firms’ Survey to see how firms can respond to the challenges ahead and unlock sustained growth.