Irish law firms see higher turnover and profits, survey finds

The majority of Irish law firms saw their turnover and profits improve over the past year, a survey has found.

Despite most respondents saying they were experiencing increased competition and pressure on fees, 70 per cent said turnover had improved in the last year.

The Smith & Williamson survey, involving 105 companies, included 15 of the State’s top 20 law firms, most of which said their turnover had improved.

While almost half (49 per cent) said they had increased staff numbers, all the top 20 firms said they had done so. Eleven per cent of firms had reduced staff numbers.

Property and conveyancing and litigation and dispute resolution were the main practice areas driving growth. Larger firms also cited growth in corporate and commercial business.

Competitive pressures

Profits were up in 64 per cent of firms overall and in 73 per cent of the top 20. However, the survey found competitive pressures were growing and leading to more fixed fees, more entrants to the market and greater client demands. Managing cash flow was cited as a significant pressure.

Three out of five firms surveyed had agreed to fixed fees for assignments in the past year.

Respondents were asked about the possibility of third- party funding of litigation, such as the possible financing by Harbour Litigation Funding of the Persona case against the State arising from the 1995 mobile phone licence competition. The High Court is hearing a challenge to the proposal.

The survey found more than half of the firms surveyed were in favour of such funding. However, 57 per cent of all firms and 80 per cent of the top firms were against crowd-funding being used to finance litigation.

On the Legal Services Regulation Bill, a third of respondents felt the new regime would not be implemented in the next 12 months. Removing the provision for multidisciplinary practices and providing for limited liability partnerships were the aspects of the Bill most often mentioned.