The UK legal services sector has faced increased competitive pressures following the liberalisation of the market. The introduction of the Legal Services Act 2007 opened up the market to non-legal entrants, especially since the introduction of ABS in 2011, with the legal profession experiencing a period of gradual but significant restructuring which is still ongoing.

Firms have responded to challenges in recent years by focussing on cost management and overhauling traditional business models. The more competitive market environment is forcing firms to increase their focus on marketing, pricing, new delivery models and the adoption of new technology (“Lawtech”), with a view to becoming more cost-effective, dynamic, client-focussed legal service providers. It has also driven consolidation, with firms looking to strengthen their business and service offering, and benefit from economy of scale through mergers.

The legal services sector is also becoming more complex as law firms, alternative legal services providers (ALSP) and technology firms compete and collaborate.

For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:

Legal services cover a broad range of services, such as commercial law, employment law, family law, conveyancing, immigration, wills and probate, and personal injury. Legal services vary from the provision of legal advice or assistance to being represented in a court of law in connection with the resolution of a legal dispute. The nature of the legal service required will depend on the type of legal need in question.

Legal services include ‘reserved activities’ that can only be provided by persons authorised to do so by their relevant approved regulator (known as ‘authorised persons’). The Legal Services Act 2007 specifies six reserved activities:

• the exercise of a right of audience

• the conduct of litigation

• reserved instrument activities (undertaken when conveyancing property)

• probate activities

• notarial activities

• the administration of oaths

Persons authorised to provide reserved activities include solicitors, who need to be authorised by the Law Society, and barristers, who need to be authorised by the Bar Council.

Solicitors provide the bulk of ‘first line’ legal advice, undertaking detailed advisory work on behalf of clients. While solicitors serving the local community are often in a general practice, solicitors serving business customers tend to be specialists in a particular area of law.

Barristers and advocates provide specialist legal advice and represent their clients in courts and tribunals. Often solicitors or other professional clients will refer work to a barrister or advocate, but it is also possible for a member of the public to go directly to a barrister for advice or representation, with some exceptions.

In addition to the six reserved activities, legal services also include both regulated and unregulated services:

• Regulated services encompass a number of activities that are regulated by a statute other than the Legal Services Act 2007. For example, immigration advice can be provided by immigration advisers who are regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC). However, solicitors and barristers are exempt from having to be regulated by the OISC to provide immigration advice.

• Unregulated legal services can be provided by persons who are not authorised by an approved regulator or regulated under a specific statute. For example, the provision of will writing services to individual consumers is neither a reserved nor a regulated activity, and can therefore be offered by unregulated providers and qualified lawyers. The provision of general legal advice, which is not a reserved activity, can be provided by a wide range of providers, such as charities and accountants.

The ONS provides a breakdown of the legal activities industry’s turnover by profession. For the purposes of this report, the market is also segmented by the main professions, as provided by the ONS:

• Solicitors

• Barristers

• Other legal activities (includes activities of patent and copyright agents)

The report predominately focusses on the work categories of the solicitors profession, which accounts for the majority of industry turnover.

Value figures exclude VAT unless stated otherwise.

One billion refers to one thousand million.

Some numbers in tables may not add due to rounding.