Three years of sustained growth in profits and income at law firms have now come to an end, according to accountancy firm MHA’s latest annual Legal Benchmarking Report. It reports that, in 2017, law firms of all sizes from sole trader practices to firms with more than 25 partners saw their income fall. Mid-tier firms—those with 11 to 25 partners—saw the largest reduction, with a drop of 11% from 2016. Karen Hain, MHA’s head of professional practices, said: ‘Our research paints a challenging picture for many firms. Efficiency needs to be a key theme for 2018 and beyond.’
18 May 2018
Growth trend comes to an end
MOVERS & SHAKERS
NLJ Career Profile: Nikki Bowker, Devonshires
Nikki Bowker, head of litigation and dispute resolution at Devonshires, on career resilience, diversity in law and channelling Elle Woods when the pressure is on
Ellisons—Sarah Osborne
Leasehold enfranchisement specialist joins residential property team
DWF—Chris Air
Firm strengthens commercial team in Manchester with partner appointment
NEWS
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The Supreme Court has restored ‘doctrinal coherence’ to unfair prejudice litigation, writes Natalie Quinlivan, partner at Fieldfisher LLP, in this week' NLJ
The High Court’s refusal to recognise a prolific sperm donor as a child’s legal parent has highlighted the risks of informal conception arrangements, according to Liam Hurren, associate at Kingsley Napley, in NLJ this week
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Mazur may have settled questions around litigation supervision, but the profession should not simply ‘move on’, argues Jennifer Coupland, CEO of CILEX, in this week's NLJ
A simple phrase like ‘subject to references’ may not protect employers as much as they think. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, analyses recent employment cases showing how conditional job offers can still create binding contracts
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