Law firms 'upbeat about the future'

Law firms are looking ahead to a successful and financially stable year, the results of a new survey suggest.

Carried out for the Law Society's Law Management Section, the survey indicates that there are more companies operating at a profit and within their overdraft limit than there were a year ago.

More than 150 practices from throughout England and Wales took part in the 2014 Financial Benchmarking Survey.

Around one in six of them think they will probably look for outside investment to fund expansion plans.

About the same number say they are likely to bring in more non-lawyer owners.

Roughly one in three, meanwhile, are predicting that they are likely to merge with another law firm over the next couple of years.

Despite that, only around 20 per cent of the practices polled say they are already in talks with other firms.

The survey has been compiled by Hazlewoods LLP.

Copyright Press Association 2015