Articles From the Team

The Law and the Economy

I read an interesting article in the Evening Standard on my way home from work recently that gave insight into how important the legal sector is within the economy.

This was an in-depth analysis which reflected the following statistics: • 8,000 new jobs are created and £379 million is added to the economy for every one per cent growth in the UK legal services sector. • Each £1 of extra turnover in the sector stimulates £1.39 in the rest of the economy. • Every 100 extra jobs in legal services supports a further 67 jobs. • The sector grew by 8 per cent from 2014 to 2015. • An estimated 370,000 people are employed in legal services in the UK. 63 per cent are solicitors or employed by solicitor firms. • Growth in the legal services sector has averaged 3.3 per cent every year for the last decade - outstripping UK economic growth rate of 1.2 per cent. • Net exports of legal services have grown by an average of 5.6 per cent per annum over the last 10 years, to £3.6 billion.

Catherine Dixon, the chief executive of The Law Society said:

The provision of expert legal services is fundamental to the success of business and commerce and underpins the very fabric of our society.

'From high street solicitors to global law firms, and from in-house solicitors to those who operate in alternative business models, our research shows that growth in legal services significantly contributes to the wider economy, boosting investment and jobs. Solicitors and employees of solicitor firms make up 63 per cent of the legal sector.

'The total value of legal services to the economy is £25.7 billion. The sector grew by eight per cent from 2014 to 2015. This is a phenomenal success story which we should celebrate.”

The “legal industry” is clearly booming and we have played a part in that too. In the last couple of years BCL Legal has grown in size and now has a truly national reach with sizeable offices in London, Birmingham and Manchester. We supply solicitors and paralegals to law firms as well as in-house legal teams throughout England.

In order to continue to grow BCL Legal is keen to speak with experienced recruiters as well as legal professionals who want to work for a progressive and innovative legal recruitment consultancy that offers fantastic financial rewards as well as a collegiate working environment. We were recently placed at number 65 in the Sunday Times’ Best Small Companies survey which is a fantastic endorsement. Further information on BCL Legal can be found at www.bcllegal.com

For more information please contact BCL Legal or call 0845 241 0933.