Booming fintech could help UK’s law firms

London’s fintech sector could help the UK’s law firms after almost a quarter of finance directors from the country’s top law firms expressed their concerns over an M&A slowdown hitting profitability.

A new report by Thomson Reuters Legal, an organisation that helps professionals in areas such as finance, legal and accounting, states that the number of finance directors concerned over an M&A slowdown was down from 8 per cent last year.

Pressure

The report highlighted the concerns amongst finance directors from the UK’s top 100 law firms, and found that over 70 per cent of lawyers are worried that downward pressure on fees could affect their profitability, whilst 40 per cent said that cost over-runs on fixed fee work is a high risk to their profits.

The study also showed that nearly 50 per cent of finance directors are expecting a rush of regulatory and compliance work, whilst 28 per cent predict that the technology sector, particularly London’s booming fintech community, will be the fastest growing of 2016.

Growth

Thomson Reuters UK&I Legal Director, Large Law Segment Samantha Steer commented: “The technology industry in particular has seen massive investment in recent years which has propelled growth in the UK and we expect this trend to continue into the long-term.”

She stated that “London-based fintech startups have seen high levels of private equity investment flooding in which has helped to stimulate corporate activity whilst also cementing the city’s position as a leading fintech hub.”