Legal services revenue falls by 16% in May
updated on 18 July 2022
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The UK legal services sector saw turnover fall by 16% in May from £3.92 billion (April 2022) to £3.28 billion in May, according to Office of National Statistics data.
Julie Norris , legal services regulatory partner at Kingsley Napley LLP, explained that this is unlikely to be a “worrying new trend” and is instead “similar to previous years” given that the same period in 2021 saw revenue drop by 22% from £3.74 billion to £2.93 billion. Meanwhile, the three-month average turnover up to May 2022 was £3.76 billion, a 5% rise from the same three-month average last year.
Turnover for the UK services sector, including legal services, jumped by 5% from £214.1 billion in April 2022 to £226.4 billion in May.
Speaking to the Law Gazette, Norris said: “The UK’s legal industry recorded a marked decrease in turnover in May. However, rather than a worrying new trend, this is hopefully similar to previous years which saw a dip in revenue following the start of the financial year.
“Regardless, firm leaders need to keep a strong focus on the economic environment, salary pressures and political headwinds as well as the continued war in Ukraine in their forward planning if they are to remain resilient.”
