The economic contribution of legal services 2024
Background
First completed in 2016, this report details the latest valuation of the legal services sector to the UK economy and internationally.
The research outlines the legal services sector’s contribution by examining the number of businesses, their turnover, gross value added (GVA), and the employment they support, both in terms of employees and self-employed individuals.
To better understand the role of legal services within the UK economy, we distinguish between direct and indirect impacts:
- the direct contribution comes from activities within the legal services sector
- the indirect contribution comes from individuals in legal occupations working outside the legal activities sector
The most recent data from 2022 shows that the legal services sector:
- includes 32,501 enterprises
- generates £44 billion in turnover and £34.2 billion in GVA
- creates employment for 311,000 people, 46% of which are solicitors
The report also provides new insights about the economic and social impact of the sector in terms of employment, interaction with other sectors, international activity and pro bono work.
Richard Atkinson, Law Society president said: “Without question, the legal sector is a key contributor to our country’s economy and is consistently growing.
“But what I would like to stress is that the economy should not be about the numbers, but about people’s prosperity and the positive difference they see in their lives.
“Our sector is responsible for employing more than half a million people either directly or indirectly and is a major UK export. Exports are critical for maintaining and improving our standards of living as is the fact that legal services are instrumental for the continued success of other sectors of the UK economy.
“So, I am proud to be part of this profession and the Law Society as we are constantly trying to find ways to support the whole sector and improve the system for everyone.”
Legal services employment
The sector employs 311,000 people - 201,000 hold one of five legal occupations, while 110,000 are in non-legal supporting roles.
Those in non-legal roles within the sector mainly work in administrative roles, such as records clerks and personal assistants, or in financial support roles.
Legal professionals working outside the legal activities sector are primarily employed in the justice and judicial activities sector.
International trade
English law is recognised as an international standard and is the most popular choice of law in the world of commercial contracts, governing approximately 40% of global corporate arbitrations.
In 2021, the UK exported £6.5 billion worth of legal services leading to a net balance of £5.5 billion.
This equals to 6% of UK’s positive trade balance, marking an upward trend since 2013.
Wider contributions
An estimated 68,000 solicitors provided a total of 1,562,000 hours of pro bono work, valued at £474 million.
Furthermore, 42% of solicitors in private practice and 38% of in-house solicitors volunteered their time for other activities, such as school governors and charitable trustees.
At the time this report was written, the data available on the economic value of UK legal services was from 2021.
Since then, new data has been published showing that the value of legal services exports has increased from £6.5 billion in 2021 to £9.5 billion in 2023.