Mid-market UK firms grew turnover by 6% in 2024 amid rising costs

Welcoming the initiative, Colin Passmore, chair of the City of London Law Society, said: “City law is a significant contributor to the economy in so many ways – not merely in terms of income, employment and taxes paid, but in keeping the economy going and ensuring millions of transactions complete every year.

“It is good to see the government’s focus on economic growth, an objective for which our member firms continue to make a significant contribution. However, if growth is slowing, as I suspect it is for many reasons, we need to see the government tap more into the knowledge of City law firms, for example through the CLLS specialist committees, who have unparalleled insights into restraints on our economic growth.”

The CLLS recently took the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to task for its proposals to change the rules governing law firms’ holding of client money by expressing concerns about potential overregulation. It argued that it was “unrealistic for the SRA to seek to change practices central to commercial life in England and Wales”.

It added that “the purported justification [the SRA gave] for further action was based on an instinct to overregulate the profession which was inconsistent with its statutory obligations. Such overregulation will hamper economic growth within a sector that is an important part of the UK economy”.