How law firms can thrive through market turbulence – LexisNexis
Mid-sized law firms face rising cost pressure, shifting client expectations and rapid technological change. This article outlines a practical law firm growth strategy that helps leaders maintain stability while preparing their practices for future opportunity.
Understanding the new market reality
Market turbulence is no longer a temporary disruption for UK law firms; it is a structural feature of the sector. Data from the LexisNexis Bellwether Report 2025 shows that smaller and mid-sized practices are experiencing intensified competition, more discerning clients and rising wage and technology costs. When combined with slower decision-making cycles and margin pressure highlighted in NatWest’s Legal Report 2024, operational resilience becomes an essential part of a firm’s growth planning.
PwC’s Law Firm Survey 2025 adds further context. Its findings show that among the UK’s Top 100 firms, priorities now include rate improvement, AI adoption and cyber resilience. For mid-sized firms, these shifts act as early indicators of where competitive pressure is likely to build. Adapting law firms to change requires greater investment discipline and a clearer understanding of what clients will value in the next five years.
Strengthening organisational resilience
Cultivating resilience in law firms begins with improving the fundamentals: pricing discipline, workforce adaptability and risk management. According to TheCityUK’s UK legal services 2024 report, the UK remains a leader in legal-sector innovation, with strong investment in LawTech and a flexible regulatory environment that encourages new models. This presents mid-sized firms with an opportunity to modernise without the overheads of large-firm infrastructure.
One area where this matters is practice diversification. IBISWorld’s long-term industry analysis notes that while corporate work may fluctuate in line with economic cycles, demand across areas such as property, employment and litigation remains stable. For firms navigating law firm growth, diversifying practice areas or reallocating resources between them can help protect revenue through downturns.
Strengthening resilience also involves operational consistency. The LexisNexis Leadership Gap Report emphasises the need for clearer internal communication and greater role clarity for partners, managers and operational leads. Firms that define decision-making responsibilities explicitly are better positioned to respond quickly to market shifts.
Building adaptive strategies for sustainable growth
A law firm growth strategy must now account for increased volatility. Mid-sized firms can benefit from adopting systematic planning cycles, where practice heads and operational leaders reassess resource allocation, utilisation and profitability more frequently.
AI adoption is a key component of law firm adaptive strategies. PwC’s report highlights AI-driven productivity as a priority among large firms; mid-sized practices can use the same tools to reduce administrative burden and accelerate research, drafting and matter management. Workforces that embrace technology early often become more agile and better equipped to respond to fluctuations in workload or client demand.
Operational leaders should also explore growth lessons from law firms that have successfully repositioned themselves. For example, firms highlighted in the Bellwether Report 2025 that invested in better client communication and service consistency reported higher client retention and stronger referral flows. In a volatile market, these advantages compound.
To support these initiatives, tools such as Lexis+s® Practical Guidance can help teams work faster and smarter, ensuring fee earners have immediate access to practice notes, precedents and current awareness material. This reduces internal variability and supports consistent delivery across locations.
Turning turbulence into opportunity
Legal market turbulence solutions require more than efficiency measures; they require strategic choices about where to compete and how to differentiate. TheCityUK data on the UK’s innovation landscape shows that LawTech adoption and alternative business structures continue to grow. Mid-sized firms can leverage this environment by exploring niche specialisms, flexible service models or technology-enabled client experiences.
NatWest’s research highlights growing employer challenges, including recruitment costs and skills gaps. Workforce transformation is therefore a core growth initiative for mid-sized firms. Upskilling teams in digital literacy and embedding structured knowledge management practices improves both productivity and client experience.
Firms can also learn from peers. For instance, Woodfines Solicitors describe how modernising their legal research tools through LexisNexis improved efficiency and client service. This case illustrates how targeted investment, even on a modest scale, can have an outsized impact on performance.
For practices looking to modernise their workflows, Lexis+ AI provides fast and accurate generative legal AI that supports drafting, summarisation and analysis, helping firms add more value in less time.
Designing for long-term stability
Thriving through market turbulence requires long-term planning. Leadership teams should integrate continuous review into their governance, revisiting risk exposure, technology adoption, workforce needs and client expectations at regular intervals. This approach reflects the direction of travel indicated in PwC’s findings, where recalibration of business models is already underway among the UK’s largest firms.
Ultimately, the firms most likely to succeed will be those that balance caution with targeted innovation. By combining resilience-building measures with adaptive strategies, mid-sized firms can position themselves for sustainable growth despite economic and sector-wide volatility.
