The top end of the market is changing as clients and client demand for legal services changes, says Linklaters managing partner Simon Davies “The top end of the market is changing as clients and client demand for legal services changes. Economic activity is being driven from an ever-more diffuse range of jurisdictions with all the […]
From rapid consolidation to the rise of the alternative business structures, here leading managing partners set out their vision for the future. David Stewart, CEO, Olswang Consolidation will accelerate. The strong growth in emerging markets, and in particular the China and Asia Pacific markets, will drive a need for greater scale and globally integrated client […]
“Einstein once claimed that he never thought about the future because it came quick enough. Those who run businesses don’t always have that luxury, but he was right in the sense that the key factors that will influence how the world will look in five years usually already exist. The challenge is to identify them […]
Prediction: By 2023 there will be three global insurance firms, with the rest of the market having halved by consolidation into two groups If there is one sector for which consolidation is the hallmark of its evolution, it is insurance. The game changed forever in 2011 when the Clyde & Co-Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and […]
In 2008 we quizzed leading legal management on how the market would look in 2013. Read what they had to say here and assess for yourself how accurate they were. David Childs, Clifford Chance Our market will continue to be driven by the needs of international clients and the growing number of increasingly complex matters […]
Prediction: The global elite will split into two and magic circle will become a meaningless name tag In 2008 The Lawyer coined the phrase ‘Sweet Sixteen’ as part of our Transatlantic Elite research. It describe a group that was widely accepted as a band of elite firms based on revenue per lawyer, profitability, client base, lawyer […]
Prediction: The bar has long retained its collegiality compared to law firms, but the signs are that this is changing. Mega-sets such as Birmingham’s No 5 Chambers and St Philips Chambers have more than 150 members and are starting to resemble City firms in their mentality, while the leading commercial chambers in London are now operating […]
Crises Prediction: The next five years will see at least five more major collapses of UK law firms. You don’t have to look back far to see the impact of the current tough financial market conditions on law firms. Halliwells, Cobbetts, and most recently Challinors all fell foul of the impact of poor decisions, exacerbated […]
What will the legal industry look like in five years’ time?
Prediction: Clients will require law firms to field professional project managers as a service norm. Costs management, both in litigation and non-contentious work, will rise to the top of the in-house agenda. With multiple methods of charging clients will start to invest in systems that track and manage costs. In turn, law firms will have […]
This much we all know: since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008 the clients have called the shots on pricing and service delivery. They’re demanding more resources, better jurisdictional spread and, in that splendidly unquantifiable phrase, “added value”. They’re even asking their external firms about diversity and CSR. General counsel snap their fingers; […]
Financial regulation reforms are an opportunity for firms to ramp up their customer service The financial crisis prompted a wave of regulatory reform that has swept through global markets and has been especially pronounced in Europe and North America where new rules are affecting almost every aspect of the financial industry. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street […]