Activity levels bounced back in France in 2021 after the initial impact of the pandemic and this recovery continued apace in 2022.
‘2022 was the best year,’ says Henri Savoie, who heads the public law and regulatory practice at Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier. ‘2023 will be more normal,’ he warns, pointing out that ‘companies will be active, but they will be cautious. It is a trend.’ Continue reading “Euro Elite 2023: France – Pretty good year”
The German legal market has again proven its ability to thrive in the face of challenge, as law firms continued their trajectory of growth in 2022. With the largest firms reporting a 7% increase in profit after a tumultuous year, German independents are demonstrating renewed confidence in their own resilience.
After the uncertainty of Covid-19 brought major moves to a halt, the legal market is finding itself back in motion, with spin-offs and mergers becoming a more regular occurrence, though major consolidations have failed to materialise in 2022. However, many firms report difficulties in finding junior lawyers to join their ranks across practice areas. Paired with shifting client expectations that demand a more holistic approach and, as Gleiss Lutz co-managing partners Michael Arnold and Alexander Schwarz put it, ‘a demand for more integrated services rendered by law firms to clients’, firms face an increased need to demonstrate adaptability. ‘This need will also change the search profile for law firm staff in the future. In addition to traditional lawyers, the need for new professional fields is growing strongly. Summarised in one expression: “the future-ready lawyer”,’ says Elisabeth Lepique, one of the managing partners at Luther. Continue reading “Euro Elite 2023: Germany – The centre holds”
The past three years have been nothing but challenging for Portugal and Spain. The neighbours, whose economies are hugely reliant on the hospitality and tourism sectors, were hit hard by the series of lockdowns imposed to battle soaring rates of Covid-19 infection in 2020. But fast forward to 2023, and the outlook has shifted significantly.
Emerging from what could understatedly be described as a turbulent period in 2020, with a 10.8% economic downturn, the Spanish legal sector has successfully regained its footing and competitive outlook. While the pandemic made economic constriction inevitable, it has also heralded an opportunity for significant year-on-year growth. Continue reading “Euro Elite 2023: Iberia – Back on track”
While Ireland’s competitive legal market has enjoyed a buoyant period post-Covid, fresh challenges have emerged to challenge this optimism. Ireland has not been insulated from the overheated recruitment market and is as alive as global peers to reversals wrought by the cost-of-living crisis, the war in Ukraine and a slowing of deals as concerns over interest rates and inflation continue to gather pace.
However, Declan Black, Mason Hayes & Curran’s managing partner, predicts high single-digit revenue growth for the 2022 calendar year, even as it comes on the back of a 2021 banner year for much of the Irish market at large. ‘Corporate transactions are down from the 2021 peak and that has spread through the western world,’ he says. ‘Valuations have tumbled amid concerns over interest rates and inflation. Deals have slowed down.’ That said, he points to real estate, financial services, contentious, regulatory and data regulatory as areas of sustained growth. Continue reading “Euro Elite 2023: Ireland – Slight return”
While the three years following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic were marked by instability and uncertainty – exacerbated by Russia’s war against Ukraine resulting in gas supply issues and inflation – law firms have been presented with opportunities for expansion and growth within a significantly reshaped legal market. With Italy among the European countries that suffered the most from both the pandemic and the energy crisis, its legal community has been concerned as to their fate in 2022.
Both large international and independent law firms faced an arduous business environment, characterised by tightened competition, shifting client needs, technological advancement and strict regulatory developments. Despite these challenges, many of Italy’s best independent law firms were able to achieve strong results in 2022 and have unanimously reported their busiest and most successful years, with an average increase in revenue of up to 10%. Continue reading “Euro Elite 2023: Italy – Toughening up”
In an increasingly tumultuous market, the Nordic region has thus far remained resilient to pressures; as the Covid-19 pandemic begins to abate, new stressors, such as the war in Ukraine and global economic downturn are starting to affect investment and deal flow across Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. With the countries’ proximity to Russia, and Finland and Sweden in the process of joining Nato, the political and economic situation doesn’t look like settling down anytime soon.
In Norway, Thommessen’s Sverre Tyrhaug states that despite the vicissitudes of global market forces and a drop in capital markets work, 2022 ‘turned out surprisingly well, we were busy and up in terms of turnover’. With regards to sectors, as with most countries in Europe, Norway is looking to increase energy security and Thommessen has seen an increase in renewables, as well as oil and gas, and hydrogen projects. As for 2023, Tyrhaug remains optimistic: ‘Lots of clients will put cost-cutting high on the agenda, especially due to increasing inflation. However, it will not necessarily be a bad year for lawyers; we expect consolidation in the tech, energy and renewables sector and a lot of M&A and distressed M&A work.’ Norway remains a stable legal market with indigenous, independent firms taking up the bulk of high-profile work. Continue reading “Euro Elite 2023: Nordics – New challenges”
Euro Elite’s Southern Europe contingent comprises firms from the highly competitive Israeli and Greek markets, all of which have been required to weather a substantial storm after several years of heightened activity.
Israel has long been known for its enterprising market of tech and life science start-ups, and recent years have seen the industry riding high with premium valuations and US public listings. That has changed in the last 12 months, as inert public markets and global economic conditions saw the well of capital begin to run dry. Continue reading “Euro Elite 2023: Southern Europe – Hanging on”
2022 brought fresh challenges for the Swiss market, given the widespread instability in the global economy. Despite strong consumer spending and the removal of the last of the pandemic restrictions ensuring that economic growth has remained steady, the lingering aftershocks of the pandemic, war in Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis, mean official predictions for growth were cut to 2% by the end of 2022. Inflation stood at just under 3% last year and the Swiss National Bank opted to raise interest rates to 1% in December 2022, having only increased them to 0.5% a few months earlier.
‘The SNB is concerned by current inflation rates,’ says Juerg Bloch, investigations and enforcement partner at Niederer Kraft Frey (NKF), says. ‘The aim is to keep inflation within the range of price stability over the medium term.’ Continue reading “Euro Elite 2023: Switzerland – Strength in depth”
