Birmingham Post Legal Column
Thursday, 13th May 2010
During my first week as President of Birmingham Law Society I was encouraged to read a new study which showed that regional firms are winning work from their City rivals.
According to the research, conducted by Winmark and presented to the Law Society in London, a third of general counsel said they had increased the amount of work they send to the regional offices of national firms.
The study also showed a significant drop in the use of magic circle firms, with around a third of in-house lawyers saying they are sending less work to the top five.
For many years Birmingham Law Society and other regional professional bodies have pressed home the advantages of our offer: in a nutshell, London quality at regional prices.
For many companies, the recession has underlined the need to make cost savings and seek value for money. They are having to make their budgets work harder. We in the regions are enjoying the benefits of this rethink.
Not that we can afford to be complacent. Cost is clearly a major driver. Just under a fifth of those interviewed acknowledged they were farming work out to cheaper jurisdictions, such as New Zealand. Even when the recession has passed, we will need to continue to look over our shoulder and ensure we offer best value.
More evidence that conditions in the legal market are starting to improve comes from the latest recruitment statistics.
It is estimated that around 2,730 people lost their jobs from the top 25 law firms during the downturn. In 2009-10, these same firms have reversed that trend and are starting to hire once more. Although the number of recruits, at 2,133, is lower than those who lost their jobs, we are once again moving in the right direction.
The two biggest recruiters in the group, Irwin Mitchell and Eversheds, have offices in Birmingham, so hopefully the region has benefited from the creation of some of these new posts.
The climb out of recession will undoubtedly be a slow one. However, we are at least taking the first steps. I hope that by the end of my presidency in April 2011, I can look back on even better news for the region’s legal community.
Dean Parnell is President of Birmingham Law Society
