Although we reported yesterday that Baker & McKenzie have just disposed of 10% of their jobs in China & Hong Kong.. law firm partners in the UK still seem to be very enthusiastic about opportunities in the region.
Maybe they know more than us?
Legal Week reports…
Confidence edges up as firms bank on Asia
Confidence recovers from April low as more than a third of partners expect growth over next 12 months; hopes mount that Asia will lead the revival. Claire Ruckin reports
Business confidence at City law firms has edged up, driven by hopes of a swift recovery in Asia, with more than a third of partners now expecting revenue growth over the next 12 months.
The latest Legal Week business confidence survey found 42% of responding partners were expecting increases in fee income at their own firm over the next year, including 18% who were expecting fee income growth of more than 5%.
A further 31% were expecting static income, with 27% predicting falls in turnover. The result is an improvement in the previous quarterly business confidence poll in April, which found only 22% expecting any growth and 37% forecasting falls in revenue.
However, there was a fall in the number of partners expecting double-digit increases in fee income from April, with only 3% of respondents making such a prediction, compared to 7% in April (see graph).
Eversheds chief executive Bryan Hughes told Legal Week: “We are going to see a range of revenue growth across the top 50 over the next year reflecting where firms sit in the market. Some of the national firms with a focus solely on the UK, or even regional marketplaces, may struggle to hold their top line, whereas firms with international operations should benefit from a degree of insulation.”
Full Story http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/analysis/1433161/confidence-edges-firms-bank-asia
Personally we’d be a bit more wary about Asia and its opportunities over the next 12 months
