As bellwether Forsters opens the 2018/19 financial reporting season in the UK announcing steady revenue growth, we ask law firm leaders for a progress report
A decent year
‘We don’t have an enormous exposure to M&A. It makes up about 10% of our business, but the sense is people are getting used to the new normal. No one really knows what is going on with Brexit, but they’re just getting on with it and there are deals out there. I dislike the phrase cautious optimism, but it’s been a decent year. The challenge for firms will be finding active clients; we have been looking further afield than we would have done years ago.’
Paul Roberts, managing partner, Forsters
Sponsors booming
‘2018/19 was clearly an excellent year for the private equity industry as a whole. As sponsors look to deploy capital in increasingly innovative ways, and in very competitive markets, it will be really interesting to see how that plays through over the next 12 months’.
Charles Hayes, partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Steel yourselves
‘As the financial year draws to a close, there is a continued feeling that performance has been strong, even in the face of the unprecedented uncertainties that we have faced throughout the year, which seem to be endlessly ongoing. While change often presents lawyers with opportunities (if they are quick enough to adapt), in the present circumstances, the impact of so many unknowns is beginning to be felt and it would be wise to prepare for tougher times ahead.’
Glen Atchison, managing partner, Harbottle & Lewis
Back to the future
‘The trouble with this financial year finishing is that we are about to start a new year that will bring even more uncertainty than the
last. So seemingly having navigated last year well enough – it would be foolish to pretend there has been no impact – we now face a potential combination of a new prime minister, the rise of the Brexit Party, no deal or even a general election – or does that sound just like an extension of the uncertainties of the current year?’
Colin Passmore (pictured), senior partner, Simmons & Simmons
Enough to go round
‘While there is no denying that M&A volumes have been hit hard over the last year, there has still been enough work to go around and we have remained busy, if not running at full throttle. Are we expecting to move back into top gear over the near term? The optimist in me says yes as the conditions for M&A are still strong and uncertainty can be a good thing; the pessimist says it will continue being up and down, while the realist advises it’s best not to make too many predictions!’
Paul Dolman, head of private equity, Travers Smith
‘We face a combination of a new prime minister, the rise of the Brexit Party, no deal or even a general election – or does that sound just like an extension of the current year?’
Colin Passmore, Simmons & Simmons
The deal cliff didn’t appear
‘2018/19 has been another year of uncertainty across the markets. The rumours of a deal-making cliff edge have so far proved to be just that, despite a market dip in the first part of this year, and so we remain busy and relatively optimistic for the immediate term.’
Andrew Ballheimer, managing partner, Allen & Overy
Hold steady
‘We’ve seen a bit of a Brexit effect across the market, with companies reluctant to commit to new investments until the picture is clearer. Overall, I expect performance to remain reasonably steady. Though the economic climate is volatile, we’ve got some good hedging built into our business, both in terms of international exposure and well-developed counter-cyclical practices.’
John Cleland, managing partner, Pinsent Masons
No ill wind
‘Business over the last financial year has been more resilient than I would have expected. I thought macroeconomic forces would have a more meaningful negative impact. It is obvious that if each year we say that a cold wind will blow more harshly, eventually we’ll be right. While economic reports do suggest more vehemently now than previously that there will be a global slowdown, the business activity that we are currently seeing throughout our network would suggest that that eventuality is not immediate.’
Gideon Moore, managing partner, Linklaters
Business as usual
‘Last year was stronger than we anticipated with some areas of the practice consistently very busy through the year. In February/March things cooled off a little in the transactional field but remained good elsewhere. As we look at the year ahead, things are pretty unclear. There are signs of clients taking advantage of undoubted opportunities. We would expect those areas that have been busy throughout the last year to continue to be so. We have taken steps to invest in strengthening practice areas that we would expect to perform well through the cycle. We have a broad client base, parts of which are always active, so we see no reason why the year ahead shouldn’t end up well.’
Charles Martin, senior partner, Macfarlanes
House in order
‘We’re coming out of the last financial year with optimism and having made some clear statements about our ambitions. FY18/19 was very successful for us in financial terms. We have seen growth across all key financial metrics and achieved our financial integrity target, including a further material reduction in net debt. We are looking ahead confidently to next year, when our strategy will be to consolidate the transformation we’ve gone through over the last four years.’
David Pollitt, managing partner, DAC Beachcroft