Challenges in 2010 for UK firms and others

For many, the new year means a new start. But that is not the case for some major law firms who are still slogging through flagging legal markets. As noted in a recent article featured in The Lawyer, many lawyers still seem to be holding their breath watching uncertain markets in the coming year. The article does point to the impact on outsourced legal services, particularly in the UK legal segment, which is expected to change fairly significantly in the coming year in anticipation of the implementation of the Legal Services Act.

Developments likely to have an impact on the market over the next 12 months include the expansion of the legal process outsourcing (LPO) market, changes in fee models and the impact of the Legal Services Act.

Efficiency has quickly become the watchword for those with their hands on the purse strings at major firms. Whether this means changes to outsourcing policy, client charging or further rounds of redundancies remains to be seen.

Despite the concerns expressed in this piece, many of the firms that we have talked with remain positive on the new year.