For Birmingham, Englandbased commercial firm Shakespeares, rapid growth has long been high on the agenda. Ever since the 2006 arrival of CEO Paul Wilsonone of a relatively small but growing number of nonlawyer managers heading U.K. law firmsShakespeares has been on an almost continuous merger spree. A few weeks after Wilson joined from London media and technology firm Olswang, his new firm doubled in size through a combination with a local rival. It has merged six more times in the past five years, increasing its revenue by over 500 percent. Yet Wilson believes further growth is needed to secure the firm’s long-term future within a U.K. midmarket that is under threat.
Lacking the scale, client relationships, or expertise to compete with the global elite for premium mandates, and with process-driven work such as insurance claims increasingly been pushed down the legal food chain to the lowest bidder, British midsize firms are finding themselves squeezed. Many are struggling to meet increasing client demand for advisers able to handle a broader range of work across a greater number of jurisdictionsand often at a lower price. Midmarket firms are also facing the influx of new competition from commercial entities such as retailers and insurance companies, which are now permitted to offer legal advice following the liberalization of the country’s £25 billion ($39.5 billion) legal services market. (The radical new legislation, enacted in October 2011 after multiple delays by the U.K. government, also allows nonlawyers to hold equity stakes in law firms.)
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