STRONG DEMAND IS DRIVING TOP-LINE GROWTH of respondents indicate robust growth “My salary has almost doubled since last year” “Since 2007 we have almost doubled, growing from £3.7m to a £5.7m turnover business” 2016 NatWest Legal Benchmark Report Q: How does your revenue compare with 12 months ago? Q: Has the market and competitive environment changed over the last 12 months? DESPITE GROWTH, LAWYERS ARE HAVING TO WORK HARDER TO DELIVER Q: What best describes your firm’s current ambitions and aims? 2016 NatWest Legal Benchmark Report CLEAR APPETITE FOR GROWTH, WITH DIFFERING APPROACHES HOW A FIRM GROWS IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS HOW MUCH OVER 70 % DISPARITY IN FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IS GROWING INCREASING CLIENT AND COMPETITIVE PRESSURES Q: Most pressing challenges you currently face as a firm? 2016 NatWest Legal Benchmark Report Small & Medium Law Firms (SMLF): challenges and opportunities SMLF (1-50 fee earners) account for: IN THE UK… The Law Society 97 % of all law firms, 9.2K in total of all lawyers, 44.8k in total of total billing 52 % 11 % 34 % 55 % £ 25.5 % It got easier It got tougher There was no change of firms are looking to grow rapidly 55 % By reducing time written off, SMLF are looking to increase profit in smarter ways of firms see technology as a key part of strategy Improved internal efficiency is the top benefit of adoption, with respondents saying: make good use of technology and see the importance of it cutting edge of tech TECHNOLOGY ENABLES GROWTH AND EFFICIENCY 75 % 65 % 13 % Q: What best represents your firm’s attitude to technology? We recognise the value of technology. Manual working methods are too time consuming – we really want to free up time to focus on clients Attracting new valuable clients Getting more value from existing clients 2 3 4 5 Recruiting talent Managing cash flow Serving matters/client profitability 1 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE (PMS) IS KEY TO TECH STRATEGY Q: Does your firm use specialist software to manage its MATTERS/PRACTICE? Growth in recovered rates Increase in Median Profits per Equity Partner 67 % of firms use specialist PMS BY FEE–PER–FEE–EARNER Demand translated to 6% increase in fees 6 % Median fee-per-fee-earner has risen by 4% 4 % £6.4 bn in total annually “ ” We need to keep pace with others and deliver growth for our staff and enable investment in new platform We will grow by improving our customer experience and operational standards “ “ ” ” PM tools enable us to free up people from admin “ ” £ Upper Quartiles Lower Quartiles 77 % MORE THAN LOWER QUARTILE This gap has grown in the last 12 months £113,000 ($163,000) £200,000 ($288,000) UPPER QUARTILE 8 % 4 % Business development is a popular goal, amongst recruitment and the temptation of a merger.