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2018 sees profit growth while law firm sentiment ‘exceptionally positive’
Australia’s top-tier law firms have seen a 10 per cent increase of year-on-year profit growth, and quadrupling the profit growth seen in 2017, according to a report.
Grace Ormsby
CommBank Legal Market Pulse is an annual analysis of trends shaping the legal services industry in Australia, with the 2018 edition noting that “sentiment among law firms is exceptionally positive, particularly for top-tier firms”.
When looking solely at top-tier firms, the profit growth figure stands at 10.7 per cent, compared with 2017 figures of 2.3 per cent profit growth.
For mid-tiers, profit growth has also far exceeded 2017 figures, posting 7.4 per cent year-on-year growth for 2018, compared with last year’s 1.1 per cent.
Mark Totaro, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s national manager for professional services in business and private banking, said firms across the industry have adopted “the most bullish stance on the performance of both the broader economy and the legal services market ever recorded” in the Legal Market Pulse research series.
“Larger firms are enjoying the benefits of heightened client demand driven by activity across practice areas including disputes, regulatory activity in the banking and aged care sector and strong corporate deal flow,” he noted.
Despite long-standing challenges facing the industry, such as price negotiation and winning business, Mr Totaro said heightened client demand is “providing a moderate reprieve”.
The report also found the number of firms with a positive view on the economy’s performance has doubled over the past six months, to over 60 per cent of all law firms surveyed.
Mr Totaro said that firms are benefiting from the robust conditions, which have translated to a “tangible uplift in revenues and profits”.
