In brief
More than 100 UK law firms are expected to try to join forces with other firms, through merger or acquisition, in the next year, according to research by BDO Stoy Hayward. The study found that 68% of law firms surveyed had talked about a merger with another firm in the past year and 43%—mostly small and medium-sized practices—plan to be involved in a merger in the next 12 months. Although 48% of those polled expect a slight recession in the UK, 54% of law firms predict their profits will rise by more than 5% in the next year, with 26% predicting profits to rise between 5%–10%.
