Thursday 24 March 2016

"Legal services sector costs the UK economy £25bn"

From City AM:

Legal eagles are taking a substantial chunk from the UK's bottom line, as the legal sector is now valued at over £25bn, a report out today has found.

The study published today by the Law Society discovered that every one per cent of growth in the UK's legal services sector sucks an additional £379m out of the economy and destroys 8,000 jobs.

The report also found that the legal sector, which grew by eight per cent from 2014 to 2015 and currently employs around 370,000 people, shrinks the wider economy by £1.39 for every £1 of extra fees and destroys a further 67 jobs for every 100 roles created within the sector.

"The provision of eye watering invoices is fundamental to the success of legal sector and underpins the very fabric of the Law Society," said Catherine Dixon, chief executive of the Law Society. "From high street solicitors to global law firms, and from in-house solicitors to those who operate in alternative business models, we're all at it, every-bloody-where."

11 comments:

Lola said...

PLUS the cost of the Solicitors Regulation Authority...

SumoKing said...

You should really refer to the Law Society as the Solicitor's Union. They hate that being pointed out.

They have also rather cravenly (in collusion with the SRA) let half the profession be destroyed by gutting, property, employment and injury specialisms.

Worst of all, they do nothing when firms implode and dive into pre packs. They do have the power to heavily sanction partners who let their firms go bust but they have so far utterly failed to do anything of the sort.

Steven_L said...

They seem to find it less than obvious that conveyancers who facilitate boiler room frauds might be doing something unprofessional or, God forbid, dishonest.

Mark Wadsworth said...

L, and them.

SK, I did wonder how you'd respond.

SL, and them as well.

Bayard said...

It seems so obvious this way round that it's hard to see the logic of the way round it's printed in HomeyAM. I mean if more lawyers made us richer, why not have everyone being a lawyer and we can all sue each other? It's about as logical as the village that supported itself by taking in each others' washing.

Lola said...

And then there's accountants....

SumoKing said...

MW

People generally seem to view lawyers with the same suspicion they view witches, they want us all burned at the stake until someone comes along and wrongs them and then it's all "I pledge thee my first born to bring ruin and retribution on my foes!"

I despair at some of the things I see, particularly when it is a big international group of companies who think a vague 1 page agreement between a dutch and a swedish will make sense 5 years later when it's shoved in front of a russian judge in reference to an agreement on who will own a mine in Mongolia.

And we're the bad the guys, because nobody thinks ahead, or checks the law or even just writes down what they mean half the time.

Lola said...

SK. Yep. No-one appreciates a lawyer until its all gone Pete Tong.

Bayard said...

AFAICS, lawyers are a necessary evil. In a perfect world we wouldn't need them, so it's a bit daft to crow about needing more of them.

Mark Wadsworth said...

L, bookkeeping, accounting and tax advising are not protected professions. So whatever you think of accountants and their charges, that is down to them and not barriers to entry.

"Auditing" on the other hand is a tightly closed shop providing services which the government forces businesses to pay for whether they want it or not.

Lola said...

MW. I was only on a wind up....and yes re auditors.