M & A and real estate will drive profit growth at firms in 2017
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M & A and real estate will drive profit growth at firms in 2017
New research finds that 90 per cent of partners in Spain expect their firm ’ s revenue to grow in the coming year , with two-thirds anticipating a rise in profits
Law firm partners anticipate that an increase in corporate and M & A work , as well as a rise in real estate-related instructions , will lead to an increase in revenues and profits at law firms in Spain in 2017 , according to a new survey by Iberian Lawyer .
Corporate and M & A is the practice area where most lawyers expect to see growth in the next 12 months , with 73 per cent of partners anticipating an increase in work in this area .
This demonstrates growth in confidence – only 67 per cent held this view in last year ´ s survey . Meanwhile , real estate is seen as the second-biggest growth area , with 50 per cent of survey participants expecting more work in this field during the next 12 months .
While corporate / M & A and real estate are expected to be the major growth areas in the coming year , a significant proportion of partners also anticipate an increase in billing in the areas of dispute resolution ( 45 per cent ) and banking and finance ( 36 per cent ). Other practice areas frequently highlighted as growth areas include tax and intellectual property .
It seems doubtful that this
What will drive growth at law firms in Spain in 2017 ?
A total of 95 per cent of partners in Spain expect their firm to grow in the coming year . Of those expecting growth , the following drivers were cited :
77 % Greater volume of work
67 % A more positive economic outlook
60 % More clients
33 % New service lines
26 % Recruiting more lawyers
22 % Greater political certainty
19 % Regulatory changes
15 % Cost reductions
13 % Fee increases
Mariano Rajoy , leader of PP , was returned as Spanish Prime Minister in October 2016 after a 10 months of negotiations involving the major political parties – 22 per cent of lawyers believe greater political certainty in the country will drive growth at law firms
More positive outlook The vast majority of partners expect their firm ’ s revenue to grow in 2017 . Ninety per cent of partners said they anticipated an increase in billing , though only two-thirds of respondents ( 66 per cent ) said they thought their profits would increase . When asked what would be the drivers of growth in the coming year , the reason most commonly cited ( by 77 per cent of those surveyed ) was a “ greater volume of work ”. Two-thirds of respondents ( 67 per cent ) said “ a more positive economic outlook ” would lead to growth , while 60 per cent of survey participants said “ more clients ” would result in increases in billing . However , only 13 per cent of partners said they thought revenues would go up because of fee increases . expected growth will translate into considerably more career opportunities for aspiring lawyers . Only around one in three partners expect their firm to increase its number of lawyers in the next 12 months . A total of 37 per cent of survey respondents said they anticipated growth in headcount in 2017 . Of those that did expect an increase in headcount , the majority ( 58 per cent ) said they expected their firm to grow its number of lawyers by at least 5 per cent . Two-thirds of partners ( 66 per cent ) expecting
66 %
Proportion of partners at law firms in Spain that expect their firm ’ s profits to increase in 2017
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• IBERIAN LAWYER • November / December 2016 www . iberianlawyer . com