Legal firms see their fee income increase compared to 2016
BRITAIN’S TOP 100 law firms grew their fee income by 7.8 per cent in the last quarter, figures show.
There was an overall fee increase of 7.3 per cent in the first half of the financial year, according to Deloitte’s Quarterly Legal Sector Survey.
The increase was driven primarily by growth in fees per fee earner. Firms across all size categories reported only modest increases in fee earner headcount, with firms in the largest size category reporting an overall decrease.
The data suggest that firms have successfully increased their fees recovered per hour with the increased focus on job profitability starting to bear fruit.
For the first half of the year firms achieved average chargeable hours per fee earner growth of 2.3 per cent and, whilst modest, this does reverse the reduction seen in the prior year.
Clare Boardman, professional services partner at Deloitte, said: “While there is a wide range in the results, at an individual firm level the results for the sector as a whole are encouraging. Activity has been stronger than many firms expected, with transaction activity remaining robust, and firms generally being busy across the different practice areas.”
The survey also found participants expect a relatively strong third quarter, with fee income forecast to rise by five per cent.
Ms Boardman added: “Figures for the last quarter were strong and these build on a solid start to the year. The level of performance has been stronger than many firms expected at the beginning of the year.”