2020 Law Firm Benchmarking
ever. How were firms doing in the lead up to the COVID-19 pandemic?
The big picture
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Revenue -Growth in revenue |
Profitability - Profit per equity partner |
People - Increase in headcount |
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COVID-19 response
The results submitted by firms during October 2020 and over six months into the global pandemic, provide valuable insight into how the legal responded. The survey asked participants about the initial impact on their firm, what strategies they employed and how this event has impacted their future strategy.
City firms
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City firms appeared to be in good shape as they entered the COVID-19 pandemic. They reported average growth of 7.4% and over a third reported an increase in top line in excess of 10%. 95% of firms reported growth this year, an increase from 83% last year. This growth in revenue is reflected in the continued investment in headcount with 6.6% growth. |
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The majority of participants (90%) cited little to no disruption to adapting to home-working due to the pandemic and expect some form of remote working to continue for their teams once the COVID-19 restrictions are fully lifted. Over 80% of City firms have expressed concerns about meeting resource requirements in the short term citing “the availability of people with the skills we need” as a business-critical risk, an increase from 30% in 2019. |
Regional firms
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A more challenging year for many regional firms. Only 59% experienced growth this year, down from 70% last year. Looking deeper into the headline figures shows particularly polarised results among the regional participants. Almost a quarter of firms produced a healthy increase in revenue, often well in excess of 10%, whole 40% reported a fall in their top line. |
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If generating revenues in 2020 was challenging, maintaining profit levels has also proven to be the case. The aggregate profit pool fell by 1.9% and 62% of firms reported a decrease in their distributable profits with an average fall in PEP of 6%. |
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Looking forward
