header-logo header-logo

Legal squeeze

30 March 2022
Issue: 7973 / Categories: Legal News , Profession
printer mail-detail
Nine out of ten law firms are facing pressure from clients to reduce costs and use different billing arrangements, according to a survey of 200 partners by litigation funder, Harbour

Moreover, clients are taking nearly twice as long to pay bills than the same time in 2020, with the average rising from 23 to 39 days (51 days for firms working in property, construction and environmental law).

Some 40% intend to lower overheads in response while 37% are investing in legal technology. Firms intend to make more use of conditional fee arrangements and litigation finance in the next 12-18 months.

Ellora MacPherson, Chief Investment Officer at Harbour, said: ‘This survey shows that all but the very largest law firms have been grappling with downward cost pressures, enduring in many cases beyond the pandemic.’

Issue: 7973 / Categories: Legal News , Profession
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll