LONDON (Within the Law) - After a challenging year, the good times would seem to be back for law firms. March showed record levels of revenue.
It’s good news for an industry that was badly hit during the pandemic and looks to be emerging stronger on the other side.
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, turnover rose to an all-time high of £4.06bn compared to £3.1bn in February representing a massive 30 percent increase in revenue. These figures beat the previous record of £3.57bn and are 19.3 percent higher than for March last year.
It shows an industry which weathered the impact of the pandemic better than most. Other figures from IRN Research found that the overall value of the sector remains unchanged after a year of upheaval. Activity dropped off significantly during the first lockdown but rebounded strongly in the second.
“There have been some law firm closures in 2020 but not a significant amount and the extension of the furlough scheme until the end of September 2021 should help those struggling law firms to continue to weather the storm for a while,” states the report.
Looking to the future, the report expects legal services to post a healthy 4.4 percent growth followed by 5.2 percent in 2022.
The strong performance reflects that in the states where the legal sector has been posting stunning figures with record revenues of $11bn. It proves that, even during a pandemic, the legal sector is more resilient than most.
Indeed, in the long run, lockdown may have even provided a number of benefits. It forced law firms to re-evaluate their business operations and introduce cost-cutting measures. Technological adoption accelerated and businesses took the plunge to remote working measures.
As a result, the legal profession which has emerged out the other side of the pandemic is stronger, more agile and more resilient than the one that entered it.
This is a profession in which cloud adoption has become more rapid and is better suited to international collaboration. This new approach bodes well for the future.
(Written by Tom Cropper, edited by Klaudia Fior)