Read pretty much any report on the legal market over the past 20 years and the story is the same: Growth, growth, growth. But, a recent report by legal advisory boutique Taha & Watmough would suggest that, while that may be true at some level, the real story is a little less rosy.

• Nearly all top [UK] 100 firms have seen real-terms rises in revenue and profit over the past ten years;
• 60% of firms have seen their revenue per lawyer fall in real terms;
• 60% of firms have seen profit per lawyer shrink;
• More than a third of firms have seen partner profits decline.

Meaning the average equity partner at a top 100 [UK] law firm is earning less [in real terms] today than 10 years ago.

Given the rise in salaries and other costs here in Australia over that period, I wouldn’t see our numbers as being too different to those above.

So the next time you see stats telling you how well law firms are doing, remember:

“Vanity metrics are the fine China of analytics – pretty to look at, but useless at the table.”

Get in touch if you want to have a chat about how you can sustainably grow your firm

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