11 December 2024
UK law is flourishing, with the value of legal services exports rising nearly 40% in two years from £6.7bn in 2021 to £9.5bn in 2023, according to Law Society analysis of Office for National Statistics figures.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said the growth reflects ‘the high regard and the pivotal role that English and Welsh solicitors play in providing world-class legal services to global clients’.
A report by TheCityUK, ‘UK legal services 2024’, also published this week, notes legal services in the UK generated more than £47bn in revenue in 2023, a 7.7% year-on-year increase. In 2010, for comparison, UK legal generated just over £25bn.
It reports the UK is a global hub for lawtech with 356 companies operating in the sector, and is home to 44% of all EU lawtech start-ups.
Another trend is the growth in numbers of corporate counsel, with 35,738 solicitors (about one in five) now working in-house.
