Interesting report in Australasian Lawyer
The Asia-Pacific region may lead the world as a growth market for legal services demand in the next two to five years, an Ashurst top executive has said.
In an interview with The Australian’s Chris Merritt, managing partner Paul Jenkins said that Ashurst takes a longer-term view of the region and that they see the Asia-Pacific as the leading growth market in legal services along with America.
“Over the next two to five years our expectation is the areas of growth will be the Asia-Pacific and the US,” Jenkins, the first Australia-based head of Ashurst, told Merritt.
“Overall it will be Asia-Pacific that will be the area of growth.”
The China market will be the primary driver for the region in Ashurst’s view. Meanwhile, the law firm also sees the finance, infrastructure and resources industries to experience significant growth over time.
This is despite Asia experiencing a decline in legal services demand over the past year. Other markets have also outpaced Asia in growth over the past two years, The Australian noted.
Meanwhile, Jenkins also points out that Britain’s economy is picking up and Ashurst expects the trend to continue despite the turmoil brought about by Brexit.