£47.5bn
£XX.Xbn
376k
32,856
£XX.Xbn
Over the five years through 2024-25, revenue is projected to expand at a compound annual rate of 1% to £47.5 billion. Widespread business uncertainty during the COVID-19 outbreak and recent inflationary pressures have limited industry growth. However, the industry is countercyclical, meaning that demand for legal work in certain areas, including litigation and insolvency matters, grows in times of economic downturn.. The largest firms have responded to the challenges posed by weaker business activity in the UK by expanding internationally, engaging in M&A initiatives and broadening their services to compete with accounting firms.
Industry revenue has grown at a CAGR of 1.0 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated £47.5bn in 2024.
Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.
Company | Market Share (%)
2025 | Revenue (£m)
2025 |
---|---|---|
Linklaters LLP | 893.8 | |
Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP | 843.5 | |
Clifford Chance LLP | 836.7 |
To view the market share and analysis for all 6 top companies in this industry, view purchase options.
Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Advising on corporate structuring, finance and other affairs, Advising on personal law and Advising on property law. Advising on corporate structuring, finance and other affairs is the largest segment of the Legal Activities in the UK.
Revenue from corporate structuring, finance and other affairs relies on economic conditions
This industry includes firms that provide legal services, including solicitors, barristers, patent agents, notaries and bailiffs. Lawyers provide advocacy and advice on a range of topics, such as commercial, property, private, criminal and family law. Law courts are not covered in the industry.
Purchase this report to view all 6 major companies in this industry.
SIC 69.10 - Legal Activities in the UK
Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.
The adverse economic climate has impacted the UK's legal sector. Recent economic troubles, including soaring inflation and geopolitical tensions, have subdued business confid...
Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.
A weak economy stalls corporate legal activity.The stagnating economic activity has severely affected corporate structuring and financing in law firms, with fewer M&A deals an...
Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.
London houses the largest law firms. The city's position as a global financial and governmental hub creates high demand for legal services, attracting major law firms to esta...
Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.
The industry is dominated by many small, specialised law firms. Many smaller legal enterprises profitably coexist with the four major Magic Circle firms, often serving specif...
Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.
The Legal Activities industry is highly fragmented. There’s a significant number of independent and boutique law firms. The prominent law firms, like the magic circle therefo...
Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.
The Legal Services Board oversees regulation. Established in 2010, this regulation body ensures public interest by overseeing the operations of 10 approved bodies, including ...
View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time.
Top-tier law firms leverage technology for efficiency. High-ranking legal firms use innovative technology like cloud-based services and AI systems to streamline operations an...
Including values and annual change:
IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.
Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.
IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.
Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.
Key data sources in the UK include:
Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.
These sources include:
Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.
IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.
IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.
Learn more about our methodology and data sourcing on the Help Center.
Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.
The market size of the Legal Activities in the UK industry in United Kingdom is £47.5bn in 2024.
There are 32,856 businesses in the Legal Activities in the UK industry in United Kingdom, which has declined at a CAGR of 0.3 % between 2019 and 2024.
The market size of the Legal Activities in the UK industry in United Kingdom has been growing at a CAGR of 1.0 % between 2019 and 2024.
Over the next five years, the Legal Activities in the UK industry in United Kingdom is expected to grow.
The biggest companies operating in the Legal Activities market in United Kingdom are Linklaters LLP, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP and Clifford Chance LLP
Advising on corporate structuring, finance and other affairs and Advising on personal law are part of the Legal Activities in the UK industry.
The company holding the most market share in United Kingdom is Linklaters LLP.
The level of competition is high and increasing in the Legal Activities in the UK industry in United Kingdom.