UK top for legal services

The UK is leading the way for international legal services, according to a new report.

Research by TheCityUK has concluded that British legal services are in high demand and appeal to both US and continental European based businesses.

At present, the UK accounts for seven per cent of the world’s law firms’ fee revenue and is the biggest market in Europe.

Nicholas Lavender QC, chairman of the Bar Council, said: “Once again, these figures demonstrate how important the UK’s legal services sector is to our economy and to the economic recovery. English law remains one of our most significant exports and continues to ensure the UK plays a leading role in global commerce.”

It was also suggested that legal firms in London tend to have a more international workforce and therefore enjoy good working network relationships across the world.

However, a new survey has raised concerns that risk management is becoming increasingly harder for lawyers and in-house counsel.

The research by industry magazine Legal Business discovered 87 per cent of in-house lawyers believe managing risk is more difficult than it was five years ago.

A total of 69 per cent of those polled also agreed they had seen a rise in spending on regulatory and compliance issues over the past half-decade and highlights the growing importance of this field.

Alex Novarese, editor-in-chief of the magazine, explained there are more challenges than ever before for in-house legal professionals as they balance cost with regulation.

“From rising costs to exponential growths in data, in-house counsel are looking for efficient and cost-effective strategies to manage these new realities,” he added.

It is also expected that legal process outsourcing (LPO) providers will have an impact, with 80 per cent of those questioned believe the market will expand in the future as compliance issues continue.

There was also strong support for LPOs because of their experience of using advanced IT solutions and risk analytics.

Corporate legal jobs at Barclay Simpson.