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RASK partner on legal services: Soon, clients will no longer be willing to pay the standard hourly rate
RASK partner on legal services: Soon, clients will no longer be willing to pay the standard hourly rate
2023 can be considered good in the legal services market. Regardless of the economic environment frozen to minus degrees, all major law firms were able to increase their turnover considerably. However, long-term success lies entirely elsewhere instead of the numbers behind.
Last year, there were offices that grew by 3-4 percent, but also those that were able to grow their turnover by as much as 10-15 percent. The sales revenue of the entire sector increased by 5.9 percent over the year, which is a decent result. From its surface, it can be concluded that the big players in the market have grown, but not directly at the expense of the small ones.
Therefore, the need for legal services has also grown in the market as a whole and more broadly. It is possible that behind this is the need for a more universal advisor, which is classically represented by law firm partners in both larger and smaller firms. This is, for example, because in certain cases the speed of the advice is decisive. It can also be seen as an increase in market awareness that high-quality and competitive legal advice cannot only be obtained from the top three firms. Everyone wins from these developments.
The big three have become a four
It is interesting to see again that the legal services market can move against the economy, and there is nothing mystical about it - difficult times always present challenges that require lawyers' ingenuity to solve. Also, as expected, the top three market leaders did not offer any surprises. Raidla Ellex's sales revenue increased by 7.2 percent, Cobalt's sales revenue by 4.2 percent, and Soraianen's turnover by 3.4 percent. Cobalt had the largest sales revenue with 15.46 million euros. The first three market shares of the entire sector's sales revenue continue to be very large, accounting for 36.5 percent. The year also offered one important merger: at the beginning of 2024, the news of PwC Legal's merger with TGS Baltic came. As a result, a fourth office appeared on the Estonian legal landscape, whose annual turnover will probably exceed ten million euros. In the future, there is therefore reason to talk about the big four instead of the top three in terms of the magnitudes of turnover, whose market share makes up approximately half of the entire sector's sales revenue.
Read the full-length market commentary on the annual report HERE.
Last year, there were offices that grew by 3-4 percent, but also those that were able to grow their turnover by as much as 10-15 percent. The sales revenue of the entire sector increased by 5.9 percent over the year, which is a decent result. From its surface, it can be concluded that the big players in the market have grown, but not directly at the expense of the small ones.
Therefore, the need for legal services has also grown in the market as a whole and more broadly. It is possible that behind this is the need for a more universal advisor, which is classically represented by law firm partners in both larger and smaller firms. This is, for example, because in certain cases the speed of the advice is decisive. It can also be seen as an increase in market awareness that high-quality and competitive legal advice cannot only be obtained from the top three firms. Everyone wins from these developments.
The big three have become a four
It is interesting to see again that the legal services market can move against the economy, and there is nothing mystical about it - difficult times always present challenges that require lawyers' ingenuity to solve. Also, as expected, the top three market leaders did not offer any surprises. Raidla Ellex's sales revenue increased by 7.2 percent, Cobalt's sales revenue by 4.2 percent, and Soraianen's turnover by 3.4 percent. Cobalt had the largest sales revenue with 15.46 million euros. The first three market shares of the entire sector's sales revenue continue to be very large, accounting for 36.5 percent. The year also offered one important merger: at the beginning of 2024, the news of PwC Legal's merger with TGS Baltic came. As a result, a fourth office appeared on the Estonian legal landscape, whose annual turnover will probably exceed ten million euros. In the future, there is therefore reason to talk about the big four instead of the top three in terms of the magnitudes of turnover, whose market share makes up approximately half of the entire sector's sales revenue.
Read the full-length market commentary on the annual report HERE.